Anelise is well ahead of the curve when it comes to speech and vocabulary. She's not even two-and-a-half, and she speaks very clearly, in complete, proper sentences. Even her responses to questions are complete sentences. If I ask if she finished her food, she never says, "yes" but always, "yes, I did!" It's quite entertaining. Here are some of my current favorites, many of them get repeated often:
"Someday we will have a dog at our house."
"When I get older, I will have earrings and a necklace."
"What in the world?!"
"Thank you, God, for such a beautiful day!"
"You can open my door in the morning, and I can get out of bed!"
"Why do we have so many people?" (in our family)
"What color are your eyes?" followed by...
"Did God make your eyes blue?"
"Hi, Chile Verde!" (driving past our favorite Mexican restaurant), followed by...
"Goodbye, Chile Verde!"
"Are we going to pick up Grandma Miles and go to Bible Study?"
"See you later, alligator!" (when finishing a skype conversation with Grandma and Grandpa Ippel)
"Will Kaylee be in my class?" (friend from church)
"I burned my fingers on the burner a few weeks ago." followed by...
"Jesus made my fingers all better!"
"Thank you, Mommy, for giving me dinner!"
Friday, March 23, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Teeth!
It finally happened. Ethan lost his first tooth yesterday! I think he's looking so grown up with that missing tooth. And I'm really glad it happened on its own yesterday, before he gets two more pulled tomorrow! I'll have to get a picture and post it soon!
We are in the phase of our year where lots of people come visit. We have four weekends in a row with visitors coming, followed by two weekends of spring break. That's a lot of people we're visiting with, which is lots of fun! Last weekend Jon and Joy (my brother and sister-in-law) came for IndyCon (board gaming convention that Jon and Jonathan go to). We had a fun time, although Joy was sick and eventually was diagnosed with strep throat. Fortunately, nobody in our family caught it. This past weekend, Jonathan's dad came for a visit. We went to BrickWorld with him on Saturday. BrickWorld is basically a Lego expo. There are lots of very large lego displays; big cities, airfields, and my particular favorite, Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Colts). This was the first year we've gone to BrickWorld; the boys loved it!
Next weekend, Orsi and Zoli are coming for a visit. Orsi and Zoli are my "adopted" sister and brother-in-law. They live near Toledo, OH. They're going to join us for a marriage retreat on Friday night and Saturday morning at our church, and the rest of the weekend I imagine we'll play lots of Tichu. The following weekend, Luke, Mandy, and their girls are coming (Jonathan's brother and sister-in-law) for the weekend. I imagine our time will be spent here and at Jonathan's Mom's house. I don't think any specific plans have been made, but we're looking forward to some time spent with them!
And before we know it, Spring Break will be upon us! I'm starting to get excited about the long car ride. And yes, I'm serious. I love road trips. It's probably time to finalize some details of the trip. Maybe we'll accomplish that this week.
We are in the phase of our year where lots of people come visit. We have four weekends in a row with visitors coming, followed by two weekends of spring break. That's a lot of people we're visiting with, which is lots of fun! Last weekend Jon and Joy (my brother and sister-in-law) came for IndyCon (board gaming convention that Jon and Jonathan go to). We had a fun time, although Joy was sick and eventually was diagnosed with strep throat. Fortunately, nobody in our family caught it. This past weekend, Jonathan's dad came for a visit. We went to BrickWorld with him on Saturday. BrickWorld is basically a Lego expo. There are lots of very large lego displays; big cities, airfields, and my particular favorite, Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Colts). This was the first year we've gone to BrickWorld; the boys loved it!
Next weekend, Orsi and Zoli are coming for a visit. Orsi and Zoli are my "adopted" sister and brother-in-law. They live near Toledo, OH. They're going to join us for a marriage retreat on Friday night and Saturday morning at our church, and the rest of the weekend I imagine we'll play lots of Tichu. The following weekend, Luke, Mandy, and their girls are coming (Jonathan's brother and sister-in-law) for the weekend. I imagine our time will be spent here and at Jonathan's Mom's house. I don't think any specific plans have been made, but we're looking forward to some time spent with them!
And before we know it, Spring Break will be upon us! I'm starting to get excited about the long car ride. And yes, I'm serious. I love road trips. It's probably time to finalize some details of the trip. Maybe we'll accomplish that this week.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fat Tuesday
For the first time in my life, I'm on a diet. I'm not technically overweight (though the "healthy" range for my height is 118lbs to 159 lbs, a huge spread, if you ask me), but I've been feeling self-conscious about how I look. After learning about myfitnesspal.com from my sister, I decided I'd try it.
MFP.com is a free site where you can keep track of the calories you eat and exercise away on a daily basis. It allows you to enter your current weight, your goal weight, and how much weight you'd like to lose per week, and it tells you how many calories you should aim for each day. I'm currently on a 1300 calorie diet, which is challenging. I feel like I eat pretty healthy things, but I wasn't good about portion control. And I wasn't much of a snacker, but doing MFP has pretty much cut out all snacks (can't have a snack if I also want dinner!).
I've been really happy with the results so far. My goal is to lose a pound per week, and after two weeks, I've lost 3 pounds. I was already losing some weight before I started MFP; I've lost a total of 5 pounds since my California trip. My goal is to lose around 10 pounds, but once I get there, I may readjust my goal and keep going.
I'm also exercising. I walk/run on my treadmill at least 5 days per week. I've committed to exercise AND reading my Bible on a daily basis, so I've decided to combine them. I have a Bible app on my phone, with my reading plan, so as I walk, I read my 4-5 chapters on my phone. If I finish my reading and haven't walked at least a mile, I run until I reach a mile, if not further. Then I also do abdominal exercises, pushups, and lunges. I'm noticing a difference both in how I feel and in how I look, so I'm really pleased!
MFP.com is a free site where you can keep track of the calories you eat and exercise away on a daily basis. It allows you to enter your current weight, your goal weight, and how much weight you'd like to lose per week, and it tells you how many calories you should aim for each day. I'm currently on a 1300 calorie diet, which is challenging. I feel like I eat pretty healthy things, but I wasn't good about portion control. And I wasn't much of a snacker, but doing MFP has pretty much cut out all snacks (can't have a snack if I also want dinner!).
I've been really happy with the results so far. My goal is to lose a pound per week, and after two weeks, I've lost 3 pounds. I was already losing some weight before I started MFP; I've lost a total of 5 pounds since my California trip. My goal is to lose around 10 pounds, but once I get there, I may readjust my goal and keep going.
I'm also exercising. I walk/run on my treadmill at least 5 days per week. I've committed to exercise AND reading my Bible on a daily basis, so I've decided to combine them. I have a Bible app on my phone, with my reading plan, so as I walk, I read my 4-5 chapters on my phone. If I finish my reading and haven't walked at least a mile, I run until I reach a mile, if not further. Then I also do abdominal exercises, pushups, and lunges. I'm noticing a difference both in how I feel and in how I look, so I'm really pleased!
Monday, February 13, 2012
8 is great!
8 years old. I can hardly believe how time has flown. 8 years ago, we were impatiently waiting for labor to get a move-on. We went in to start the induction at 7 am, and nothing was happening before 3 or 4 in the afternoon. You took your time, buddy. As the sun set and it got dark, we started wondering if you might be a Valentine baby. We hoped not. I'm sure our families were anxiously waiting to hear our news; I'm sure they had expected to hear the news already! You finally made your appearance at 11:13 pm. Cutting it close, don't you think? We're loving watching you grow up, Ethan Robert Baker. We pray that you will be a man of integrity, that you'll be a man after God's own heart.
Happy Birthday, Ethan!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tooth Fairy
Nope, the tooth fairy still has not visited our home. However, her inaugural stop on Marla Drive is imminent. Here's the surprise: it won't be for Ethan.
Ethan has an adult tooth protruding behind his lower front baby teeth. The dentist said he should keep working on wiggling the baby tooth in front of the adult tooth. It's starting to get loose, but there's a lot of progress to be made.
Yesterday, Caleb said his tooth was hurting a little, and when I inspected it, I discovered that it is SO loose that it could come out any day. In fact, he wanted me to pull it, but when I started, he changed his mind. :) (Then Ethan said, "you know, my top teeth are hurting a little..." and discovered that his top teeth are quite a bit looser than the bottoms!)
I pulled Ethan aside later, and asked him if he'll be disappointed if Caleb loses a tooth before he does (after all, Caleb's two years younger!). He thought for a second, then responded with, "I just really want to lose one, so that I can get more money for legos." (Okay, sibling rivalry not an issue on this one!) I told him that he wouldn't get very much from the tooth fairy, maybe a quarter. He looked at me, shocked. "Most kids get $5!!!" WHAT?! Not in this house, buddy. Our tooth fairy is Dutch.
Ethan has an adult tooth protruding behind his lower front baby teeth. The dentist said he should keep working on wiggling the baby tooth in front of the adult tooth. It's starting to get loose, but there's a lot of progress to be made.
Yesterday, Caleb said his tooth was hurting a little, and when I inspected it, I discovered that it is SO loose that it could come out any day. In fact, he wanted me to pull it, but when I started, he changed his mind. :) (Then Ethan said, "you know, my top teeth are hurting a little..." and discovered that his top teeth are quite a bit looser than the bottoms!)
I pulled Ethan aside later, and asked him if he'll be disappointed if Caleb loses a tooth before he does (after all, Caleb's two years younger!). He thought for a second, then responded with, "I just really want to lose one, so that I can get more money for legos." (Okay, sibling rivalry not an issue on this one!) I told him that he wouldn't get very much from the tooth fairy, maybe a quarter. He looked at me, shocked. "Most kids get $5!!!" WHAT?! Not in this house, buddy. Our tooth fairy is Dutch.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Having a Super week!
Most, if not all of my readers know I live in Indianapolis.
Most, if not all of my readers know that next weekend in Indianapolis, a very large event is taking place.
Yes, the Super Bowl is taking place in our great city on Sunday. Preparations have been in the works for several years, and from what I've heard and read in the paper, our city has done a fantastic job of putting everything together. I had no idea how many events and celebrations happen in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. We've made some last minute plans to experience the festivities first hand. No, we're not spending thousands of dollars to watch the game at Lucas Oil Field. But we are going to head downtown tonight, just Jonathan and me, to participate in the
Jonathan has also decided to splurge and take the boys to the NFL Experience tomorrow. We'll pull Ethan out of school a little early and the three of them will head downtown to have some fun pretending to be professional football players. Or something. I'm not quite sure what it is. But at $20 per kid, it better be fun!! Jonathan will get in free because he's working security at the NFL Experience all weekend. Yippee!
Which reminds me, we're not hosting a Super Bowl party this year, in case anyone was wondering. Enjoy the game: Go Giants!!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Mystery Trip
Last week Friday, I went on a mystery trip, planned by my sisters. I have two sisters who live in California, as well as a sister-in-law who lives in Michigan. The two west coast ladies planned a long weekend for the four of us, and Joy (my sister-in-law) and I didn't have a clue about any of the plans. Including, I might add, our airport destination. So when I arrived at the airport on Friday and was checking in, I got a very confused look when the guy checking me in asked where I was going, and I said, "um, well, I don't know!" I knew we were going to California, and quickly learned that I was heading to Palm Springs! I had been sent a packing list, as well as the time I needed to arrive at the airport, and my confirmation code.
My layover was in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I wondered if Joy might have had her layover there too, and if we would be on the same flight for our last leg. But I didn't have very much time to think about it or look for her, because when I arrived from Indianapolis, I had less than an hour to get to my next gate. Of course that's plenty of time, but still a little stressful for this mama who rarely flies. As I approached the gate for my second leg, I started looking for Joy. I scanned the crowd, not seeing her. I was a little bit disappointed that she wasn't there. Then somebody moved, and there behind him, was Joy! She also wondered if we might meet up, and had seen that there was a flight coming in from Indianapolis. She had been tempted to meet me at my arriving gate, but with the short layover, not knowing if I really would be on that flight, she'd decided to just wait. It was fun to meet up. We were able to switch seats to sit next to each other for the flight from DFW to Palm Springs.
After landing in Palm Springs, we were met by Julie and Jodi, and then we headed to Julie's (and Nick's) house. When we arrived, we were given an envelope. The paper inside said this:
this rhyme is as short as Sofia
and will serve to reveal an idea
each event that we do
has its own limerick too
let's all have some warm spiced
So....we enjoyed some sangria and relaxed for a little while before heading to bed. We had been told we'd have an early start on Saturday. Saturday morning we ate a delicious breakfast and were on the road by around 7:45. We were given envelope #2, which included the following limerick:
at eight in the morning we'll go
forgetting the blizzards and snow
heading south in the car
we won't travel too far
we're off to go see
This one took a little while for us to get. We figured out that it was the name of a city, but do you have any idea how many cities in California could rhyme with "go" and "snow?" Well, we eventually figured it out: San Diego! It's a couple of hours from Nick and Julie's house, and as we got closer, we were given envelope #3:
a large naval outpost afloat
its hotel has a guest list of note
you won't find a car
on Coronado's black tar
to get there we must take a
boat!!! it turns out the girls were mistaken about not being able to take a car, but we enjoyed a ferry ride from San Diego to Coronado Island, and spent the next 3 hours or so just walking around the island. We started on the east side of the island, facing the city, and made our way around to the west side, on the Pacific. We rolled up our jeans and put our feet in the frigid water. We found a few shells to take home to our kids. We drank coffee and shared lots of laughter. We figure we walked about 5 miles on the island. Then we went back to the ferry and headed back to the car. Once there, we were given limerick #4:
Balboa's a great place to munch
and eat some red grapes by the bunch
not far from the zoo
it's a beautiful view
next up is a grand picnic
So we drove to Balboa Park. It was quite difficult to find parking, but eventually we did, and enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking a gorge. We had chicken salad and croissants, fresh strawberries, grapes, sweet potato chips, chocolate covered pretzels, and maria cookies with nutella (which we proceeded to dip almost everything else into as well). After lunch, we walked around the park, admiring the many museums and grounds. We walked through the botanical gardens and over to a bridge with a stunning view. When we were ready to start heading back to the car, we tried to complete the loop we'd started, but were unable to because of the many gorges keeping us from our destination. We ended up doing a lot more walking that day than our bodies are used to. We were sore!!! From Balboa Park, we headed to our hotel, the Sofia hotel, which was right downtown San Diego. After settling in a bit, we were given our next envelope:
we're beautiful girls at the core
on the outside let's work a bit more
we'll get dressed up and cute
and then find a good route
to Daisy's for dinner for
Four! So we got dressed up a little and walked to Daisy's bistro, which was just around the block from the hotel. We had a delicious dinner (flat bread with hummus, flat bread pizza, marinated skirt steak with roasted potatoes and corn, and a sampling of 4 different amazing desserts: cookies, sundae, butterscotch pot de creme, and blackberry cabernet sorbet. After stuffing ourselves, we waddled back to the hotel, got comfy in our jammies, played a game of Bohnanza, and gave ourselves facials. Before bed, we were given our next limerick:
inspired by a Biblical tale
make sure you hang on to the rail
it might be quite cold
but we're sure to behold
the sight of a giant grey
Yes, the next day, my birthday(!!) we were going to go whale watching! We had been told to pack a hat, scarf, and mittens, and Joy and I both thought they were for spending time in the mountains. Nope, they were for whale watching! So on Sunday, we started with a breakfast of homemade lemon and lemon blueberry scones with lemon curd. So yummy. Then we packed up, checked out, and made our way to the marina for our whale watching tour. We had a three hour tour, and it was so much fun! We saw three grey whales, as well as several dolphins. The weather was beautiful. It was a little chilly on the ocean, but not so cold that we were uncomfortable. After the whale watching, we had lunch at a fun taco shop near the ocean. It was delicious, authentic Mexican fare. After lunch, we got back on the road, heading north. And we were given our last limerick:
with reds, whites, and blushes divine
those varietals picked off the vine
we'll take a few sips
and pay with our chips
it's time to go sample some
You got it, we went wine tasting. We went to Temecula, where there are dozens of wineries. And the scenery is breathtaking! It reminded me of pictures I've seen of Tuscany. Rolling hillsides, rows of grapevines, palm trees, cyprus trees, SO beautiful! Unfortunately, the winery we chose was not so beautiful, but we still enjoyed our time sampling the wines. After the wine tasting, we made a quick stop at HomeGoods and then made our way back to Nick and Julie's house. Nick and Ben had made us a delicious (birthday) meal of steak, salad, and risotto. Julie made chocolate lava cakes for dessert. It was a memorable birthday!! We spent Sunday night and Monday in Redlands, with Nick and Ben, the brothers-in-law, as well as Eva and Sofia, my nieces. Monday was a very low-key day. We played some games, went for a walk, hung out together. It was relaxing. Tuesday morning, I was up at 4:30 to catch my 6:55 flight home.
What an amazing weekend! Thanks again, Julie, and Jodi, for all your work putting that together. And Joy, Julie, Jodi, Nick, Ben, Eva and Sofia, it was fun to spend some quality time together. I'm starting to think about the fun things we could plan for you guys on a mystery trip to the mid-west!
I'll have to post more pictures when I get them from Julie and Jodi. I didn't take a camera, and was trying to take a picture of the whale with my phone, but it was too slow. So this is actually a picture of Julie's camera, with the picture she had taken (zoomed in). We weren't actually as close as it appears. :)
My layover was in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I wondered if Joy might have had her layover there too, and if we would be on the same flight for our last leg. But I didn't have very much time to think about it or look for her, because when I arrived from Indianapolis, I had less than an hour to get to my next gate. Of course that's plenty of time, but still a little stressful for this mama who rarely flies. As I approached the gate for my second leg, I started looking for Joy. I scanned the crowd, not seeing her. I was a little bit disappointed that she wasn't there. Then somebody moved, and there behind him, was Joy! She also wondered if we might meet up, and had seen that there was a flight coming in from Indianapolis. She had been tempted to meet me at my arriving gate, but with the short layover, not knowing if I really would be on that flight, she'd decided to just wait. It was fun to meet up. We were able to switch seats to sit next to each other for the flight from DFW to Palm Springs.
After landing in Palm Springs, we were met by Julie and Jodi, and then we headed to Julie's (and Nick's) house. When we arrived, we were given an envelope. The paper inside said this:
this rhyme is as short as Sofia
and will serve to reveal an idea
each event that we do
has its own limerick too
let's all have some warm spiced
So....we enjoyed some sangria and relaxed for a little while before heading to bed. We had been told we'd have an early start on Saturday. Saturday morning we ate a delicious breakfast and were on the road by around 7:45. We were given envelope #2, which included the following limerick:
at eight in the morning we'll go
forgetting the blizzards and snow
heading south in the car
we won't travel too far
we're off to go see
This one took a little while for us to get. We figured out that it was the name of a city, but do you have any idea how many cities in California could rhyme with "go" and "snow?" Well, we eventually figured it out: San Diego! It's a couple of hours from Nick and Julie's house, and as we got closer, we were given envelope #3:
a large naval outpost afloat
its hotel has a guest list of note
you won't find a car
on Coronado's black tar
to get there we must take a
boat!!! it turns out the girls were mistaken about not being able to take a car, but we enjoyed a ferry ride from San Diego to Coronado Island, and spent the next 3 hours or so just walking around the island. We started on the east side of the island, facing the city, and made our way around to the west side, on the Pacific. We rolled up our jeans and put our feet in the frigid water. We found a few shells to take home to our kids. We drank coffee and shared lots of laughter. We figure we walked about 5 miles on the island. Then we went back to the ferry and headed back to the car. Once there, we were given limerick #4:
Balboa's a great place to munch
and eat some red grapes by the bunch
not far from the zoo
it's a beautiful view
next up is a grand picnic
So we drove to Balboa Park. It was quite difficult to find parking, but eventually we did, and enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking a gorge. We had chicken salad and croissants, fresh strawberries, grapes, sweet potato chips, chocolate covered pretzels, and maria cookies with nutella (which we proceeded to dip almost everything else into as well). After lunch, we walked around the park, admiring the many museums and grounds. We walked through the botanical gardens and over to a bridge with a stunning view. When we were ready to start heading back to the car, we tried to complete the loop we'd started, but were unable to because of the many gorges keeping us from our destination. We ended up doing a lot more walking that day than our bodies are used to. We were sore!!! From Balboa Park, we headed to our hotel, the Sofia hotel, which was right downtown San Diego. After settling in a bit, we were given our next envelope:
we're beautiful girls at the core
on the outside let's work a bit more
we'll get dressed up and cute
and then find a good route
to Daisy's for dinner for
Four! So we got dressed up a little and walked to Daisy's bistro, which was just around the block from the hotel. We had a delicious dinner (flat bread with hummus, flat bread pizza, marinated skirt steak with roasted potatoes and corn, and a sampling of 4 different amazing desserts: cookies, sundae, butterscotch pot de creme, and blackberry cabernet sorbet. After stuffing ourselves, we waddled back to the hotel, got comfy in our jammies, played a game of Bohnanza, and gave ourselves facials. Before bed, we were given our next limerick:
inspired by a Biblical tale
make sure you hang on to the rail
it might be quite cold
but we're sure to behold
the sight of a giant grey
Yes, the next day, my birthday(!!) we were going to go whale watching! We had been told to pack a hat, scarf, and mittens, and Joy and I both thought they were for spending time in the mountains. Nope, they were for whale watching! So on Sunday, we started with a breakfast of homemade lemon and lemon blueberry scones with lemon curd. So yummy. Then we packed up, checked out, and made our way to the marina for our whale watching tour. We had a three hour tour, and it was so much fun! We saw three grey whales, as well as several dolphins. The weather was beautiful. It was a little chilly on the ocean, but not so cold that we were uncomfortable. After the whale watching, we had lunch at a fun taco shop near the ocean. It was delicious, authentic Mexican fare. After lunch, we got back on the road, heading north. And we were given our last limerick:
with reds, whites, and blushes divine
those varietals picked off the vine
we'll take a few sips
and pay with our chips
it's time to go sample some
You got it, we went wine tasting. We went to Temecula, where there are dozens of wineries. And the scenery is breathtaking! It reminded me of pictures I've seen of Tuscany. Rolling hillsides, rows of grapevines, palm trees, cyprus trees, SO beautiful! Unfortunately, the winery we chose was not so beautiful, but we still enjoyed our time sampling the wines. After the wine tasting, we made a quick stop at HomeGoods and then made our way back to Nick and Julie's house. Nick and Ben had made us a delicious (birthday) meal of steak, salad, and risotto. Julie made chocolate lava cakes for dessert. It was a memorable birthday!! We spent Sunday night and Monday in Redlands, with Nick and Ben, the brothers-in-law, as well as Eva and Sofia, my nieces. Monday was a very low-key day. We played some games, went for a walk, hung out together. It was relaxing. Tuesday morning, I was up at 4:30 to catch my 6:55 flight home.
What an amazing weekend! Thanks again, Julie, and Jodi, for all your work putting that together. And Joy, Julie, Jodi, Nick, Ben, Eva and Sofia, it was fun to spend some quality time together. I'm starting to think about the fun things we could plan for you guys on a mystery trip to the mid-west!
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