Another Photo Friday

A few days ago I was sitting in our dining room looking through the living room at the kids' month-by-month photo frames.  It never really occurred to me before how much Olivia and Dexter looked alike when they were born.  I always such such a difference in their facial features.  But, looking at the frames side-by-side from a distance made me recognize that they both resemble each other.

Dexter is on the left, in the hat and Olivia is on the right.  Their eyes are both equally squinty at the bright lights, their noses are a little broad and turned up, and they have the same structured mouth.  Olivia's cheeks are a little more round (always have been and still are) and Dexter has high cheek bones.  But, it's amazing how there are so many gene combinations that can occur when a couple has a baby...yet my two babies look so much alike.  It's simply Divine!

As for my photo from Friday, here is Dexter in his pajamas.  He is 45 weeks old today - quickly approaching the one-year mark! 

The kids are 'playing together,' which includes Olivia running in circles laughing while Dexter tries to keep up on his hands and knees.  He loves playing with his big sister!

Dexter is very close to walking and can stand without holding on to anything.  He can stand up from the squatting position without pulling himself up on anything, but has only tried to take a few steps on his own twice....he fell to his knees right away.

Olivia is going potty all by herself, from beginning to end.  This may seem like not a huge deal to some people, but when you've been trying to potty train a strong-willed child for 18 months, it's a great thing to not have to help out in the bathroom several times a day!

Dexter has 7 teeth now and the 8th is there and will push through the surface any day now.  He is eating everything from the table that we eat and loves lasagna and broccoli!

It's almost nap time, so I need to go round up the 'horses' that are galloping around the dining room table now.  Enjoy your weekend - thanks for checking in on us!

Photo Friday

I’ve decided to start something new…we’ll see how long I can keep it up!  Today is the first Photo Friday for my blog.  I’ve taken some pictures throughout the day so you can see what our family is up to at the end of this January week.

 The Christmas tree is finally out of our house and ready for the village to turn it into mulch!

The dining room curtains, keeping out the cold winter's breeze.

Olivia at breakfast - no we haven't brushed her hair yet this morning!

Dexter at breakfast - enjoying his cereal and applesauce!

Dexter seems to have been fighting a cold this past week, Olivia is trying to be a great big sister, and Chris and I are trying to sort out what lies ahead in 2012.  For now, it seems like things are going well.  We are trusting in the Lord to guide and direct us.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hello 2012!

Wow, it's hard to believe 2011 is gone!  There were so many days when I said to myself, "I really should get online and blog".....but I just couldn't get myself to sit down and do it.  I have several excuses that I could give, but the bottom line is that there just wasn't enough time to get everything done I wanted to do!

Our family closed out 2011 with many blessings.  We are all four healthy, Chris is hard at work as an architect and an insurance agent, I am home with our two (for the most part) happy children, and we are ready to take on the challenges that 2012 has in store for us.

Chris has stayed busy with architecture lately and you can check out some of his work on his blog:  http://chriskannelarchitect.blogspot.com/.  I stayed busy leading up to the holidays with lots of crafting and sewing.  I prepared to have a booth at a local craft show in November and then opened an Etsy shop with some of the remaining projects.  You can take a look at the items for sale at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/kannelkraft.  I am frequently adding new items, so check back later for new things!  I also spent my free time (what little bit there is when the kids are sleeping) sewing projects for my nephews, around the house, and gifts for friends.  From Thanksgiving through Christmas I completed:
1 Christmas tree skirt
4 stockings with personalized names
3 super hero capes
1 set of capital and lower case felt letters
1 dress up fireman's jacket
2 dinosaur tails
2 10-page activity/quiet books
2 fleece sweatshirts (without patterns)
1 decoupaged puzzle
1 paper/pencil holder/art studio-to-go

That doesn't seem like a lot, but it sure kept my hopping!  I also sewed three sets of curtains for our house in an effort to keep out the cold.  Oh, and I made two door draft stoppers and one couch draft stopper (for under the front of the couch where the cold air comes out and blows across the living room floor).  My sewing machine could use a nice tune-up right about now!  I still have another set of curtains for the living room to finish, and I still have a pile of projects that is waiting to be done "whenever I have time to get to them."  I have some fabric to make curtains for the kitchen and pantry, but my husband and father-in-law are scheming about kitchen remodeling possibilities....so perhaps I'll wait until they make up their minds to begin working on the kitchen curtains.

I have a few outfits to make for Olivia for spring/summer, a few crafts for her in the pile, and I really want to make something for Dexter since I haven't made anything for him at all yet.  But, as Olivia gets older her nap time gets smaller; which means my personal time during the day is dwindling!  Dexter likes to help me sew, but if you can imagine, he's not very helpful!  He crawls all over the fabric that's laid out on the floor, he likes to try to grab the shiny scissors, and he's very attracted to the sharp pins.  So, I've cut out our sewing time together and gone back to simply playing with toys and reading books with him!

I'm leading a new Bible Study with a small group of ladies.  We will be going through "Fearless" by Max Lucado and we'll start that next Sunday.  Olivia is in gymnastics once a week and absolutely loves the activity.  Chris is leading a Bible Study on Saturday mornings, he is leading the Wednesday night class at our church, and he continues to be involved with several groups throughout the community.

We pray 2012 will be another filled with blessings for us, but we also know that God will be with us regardless of the situations that lie ahead.

I'll post pictures of some of my projects soon, but I didn't take pictures of everything.  After a while, I wrapped the gifts as soon as they were finished so I could move on to the next...that left no time to take a picture!

Hope your Christmas merry and full of joy for the gift of Jesus, and hope your New Year has started off on the right foot!

A Happy Mother's Day

Thank you to my friends and family for making today a wonderful Mother's Day.  I also wanted to send extra Mother's Day love to my mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and grandmothers-in-law.  I truly appreciate each one of you in your own special way!

Today I celebrated my 3rd year or being a mother, and I'm wishing my mother a happy 30th year of being my mother!

2011

2010

 2009

What's In A Name?

Dexter Aaron Kannel

Dexter:

Meaning - Dexterous

Perfect for the son of an architect who loves to draw, paint, design and write.

Perfect for the son of a mother who loves to sew and craft.

Aaron:

Meaning: Mountain of Strength

The brother of Moses - Moses' spokesman

Scripture Reference - Exodus 15:2

"The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God and I will praise him,

my father's God, and I will exalt him."

(Moses and the Israelites singing to the Lord)

Welcome to the World!!!

We are happy to announce the safe and blessed arrival of our new little son, Dexter Aaron Kannel. He was born on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 10:08am. He weighed 8lbs exactly and was 19.25" long. He looked pretty chunky at first, but after many dirty diapers, lost over 1/2 lb before leaving the hospital. He is now skinny and bony, much like his older sister was at birth.

Olivia is doing well with the addition to the household. She likes to 'pet' his head, show him her toys, and pat his belly when he cries. Chris has been amazing since we've been home. He plays with Olivia when I am busy or sleeping, he helps care for Dexter in the night, he helped my mom do the dishes and put away groceries....he is a great husband and father. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

Dexter is a little ball of cuteness! Of course, as his mother, I'm completely biased...but I at least wanted to throw my opinion out there! Below are some pictures for you: some from the hospital and some from home. For more pictures, check out my Picasa website. Enjoy!

Staying Busy...

I've been trying to stay busy to keep my mind off of the fact that I have no idea when this baby will arrive! I've been spending time outside with Olivia if the weather is permitting. Last week, we picked up sticks in Grandma and Grandpa's yard and then we went to Great Granny's yard to pick up sticks there too. Olivia likes the task and I didn't mind the exercise. Bending over became tougher after a while though! After we picked up sticks at both of those houses, we moved out to Great Grandma and Grandpa Kannel's house. Chris' Dad said sticks needed picked up in their yard too.....but they weren't really 'sticks.' :) When I started to pull the first one through the yard, Olivia said, "Mommy, that's a whole tree!" And she was absolutely right! We've seen trees smaller than that 'stick.' But, we took our time and got the job done. I didn't feel overworked, it was nice to get outside, and I thought the exercise might help bring Baby Kannel along. Guess not! It was still a lot of fun.

Here are some pics from the past few days:

40 weeks in and getting loved on by my toddler