The joy of cupcakes

Mr. Reese after thoroughly demolishing his cupcake...

HICCUP

This is hilarious and it explains why his hiccups in utero felt so forceful...

Soooooo sleepy

Some sweet pics of Lincoln... this is what he does when he's not eating. :)

I Scream, You Scream...

So my computer game addict daughter was surfing the kid-friendly web and found this great recipe that we decided to try on this rainy day... it was super fun and worked really well!

Ice Cream in Two Bags

3/4 C milk (we used 1%, but 2% or whole would probably be better)

4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

handful of chocolate chips, chopped fruit, nuts, whatever

1/2 C kosher salt

3-4 C ice cubes

gallon baggie

quart baggie

heavy duty tape

In qt baggie, mix milk, sugar, vanilla, chips.

Seal with tape and place inside gallon baggie.

Pour ice cubes and salt around smaller baggie and seal large baggie with tape.

Put on your winter gloves and shake, shake, shake! Toss it back and forth and shake for about 5 minutes or until it looks thick enough to eat!

Baby Days

So our days are mostly consumed with our little newborn punkin... Emma cannot get enough of him and you can generally find her squeezing him, kissing him, begging to hold him. Reese had been ignoring him, but we had a breakthrough today when he asked to hold him! By the look on Lincoln's face, you can tell he was surprised too. :)
Here is another thing Emma dreamed up to do to her little brother- I cracked up when I turned around to find she had put her shoes on him. Poor kid doesn't know what's coming.
And my sister (Aunt Kara) lovin' on Lincoln... he's pretty snuggly.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

After a very uneventful and quick labor and delivery (thank the Lord!)...

Lincoln Samuel Nottingham

4/21/08

12:21 p.m.

9 pounds

22.75 inches

some dark hair... seems to look quite a bit like his older brother... very much loved by his older sister...  a sweet, precious baby boy!  :)

The Creation Museum

Josh sold a car to a staff member at the new Creation Museum in Kentucky and was then asked to come give a talk to all their staff members at their chapel.  They graciously gave us and some friends all free tickets to come see the museum.  We had totally been wanting to go check the place out, so we brought all five monkeys and they had a great time seeing all the displays about how God created the world.  It was a really cool experience and we only lost 2 children for a very short time.  ;)  Reese especially loved the "didas" (dinosaurs).  They are his ultimate fave right now.  I'd recommend going to see it...  

The Big Move to Fishers

We are in our new house and slowly getting settled in!   

A few pics... would you believe this house was one GIANT mass of white walls? 

Until our amazing friends did their magic! 

  We had such amazing helpers come over and paint endlessly for no reward other than some pizza and chinese takeout.  What wonderful friends we have!!!  

Kelly making the FIRST of many brushstrokes!

Sara, the trooper, ready to unscrew light covers  :)

Shanda, you are the bomb.

Me and my belly in all our glory.  

Being 8 months pregnant doesn't stop me from getting in on the fun!  :)

Baby Update

So I went to the doc and am already dilated 2.5 centimeters... so she went ahead and scheduled me for induction on April 21st (unless he decides to come earlier)!  I'd be worried he was coming any day, but I did this with Reese- I was dilated to 5.5 on the day I was induced and wasn't in labor.  Weird.  Anyway, we'll be welcoming baby Lincoln in 18 or less days! 

Mr. & Mrs. Mark Nottingham

What a big weekend! We started with the bachelorette party/shower for Sarah & bachelor party for Mark on Thursday... following by an evening of vomiting after I caught the stomach bug... then the rehearsal festivities on Friday (which I sadly had to miss while I recovered)... and then the wonderful wedding celebration of Mark & Sarah on Saturday. All of their hard work in a short time paid off- everything was beautiful- especially the bride! The flower girls were all completely speechless when they saw her. :) The kiddos all just looked precious in their special attire and did their duties without any major mishaps.

What a blessing to share in Mark & Sarah's blessed day!

Mrs. Nottingham-to-be
The super cool marquis in front of the Fountain Square Theater where they had their reception.
Reese, Lauren (Sarah's niece), Emma, Winnie, & Asher all looking totally dashing
The newly married Mr. & Mrs. Mark Nottingham!

Snow buddies

I am embarrassed to admit that these are pictures of Reese's FIRST time playing in the snow! As I try to figure it out... he was born in the winter, so a newborn is not usually found playing in snow... then last winter I suppose he was just always busy doing something better like sleeping or playing inside where it was warm... then this winter... well I've come to my senses. This adventurous little boy loved it- and his big sister showed him the ropes. :)

Smile!

Okay, Snow Angel Making 101... first you sit down...

Then you lay back and flail your arms...

Careful, Reese!

WE DID WHAT?!

So about a week and a half ago, Josh was checking out some foreclosure listings... and stumbled upon this monster of a house in Fishers that was a greater deal than we could pass up. 3500 square feet compared to our 2200. Ours is on the market and ready for a buyer since we are now the proud owners of two houses (again). :)

Anyone up for painting? There will be lots to do!

Fire Station

Let's be honest, Emma's field trip to the fire station was totally fun for her... but Reese was in heaven since fire trucks are one of his favorites. The kids had a great time getting a tour of the fire station and talking with the brave firemen. They also got to talk to a real policeman and ask him questions. Emma became a junior officer with a badge and all.
She might be able to START fires with that charm...

Everyone got a chance to SIT in a real firetruck... even little brothers like Reese. :)

Florida...

So right after Christmas with both families (and you may have noticed I skipped right over Christmas pictures- that's because all the pics I took are on my mom's camera and I need to get those!... to come later!) we headed off to Florida...

It was a nightmare of a trip there- 13 hours total travel time (and we FLEW!) Typically our Reese is Mr. Mellow, but by the time we arrived into FL around 11 pm, he was an absolute MESS to say the least. This is the following morning when he woke up and walked with his blankie to the door leading to the pool at our rental house. Maybe he was deciding it had all been worth it?? :)

Then the weather wasn't super, so Autumn and I tried to come up with ways to keep the kiddos (ages 6, 5, 4, 2, 1) entertained.... an indoor play place was just the ticket!...

And Aunt Pat took us to a super fun restaurant where we got to make s'mores right at the table! The kids were totally into it as you can imagine...

Josh got Emma golf clubs for her birthday, but this was the first time they had gotten to use them... until a grumpy old ranger told her she wasn't allowed to play. I think she enjoyed it anyway and loved spending time with Grammie Bev, Mark, Sarah & Aunt Pat on the course!

And we did get about ONE hour on the boat during the whole 10 days... here are Asher and Winnie enjoying the sun that we wouldn't see again for quite a while!...

Makin Cookies

We had our little friends Macy, Makenna and Kai over for an evening of babysitting... during bedtime! I knew it would be an adventure and we would need some activities, so the girls made cookies together. They did a great job putting all the ingredients in... AND sampling to be sure they were ok. ;)

Christmas Program

Wow- it's been too long on blogging... but our camera charger was MIA and we finally got our new one in the mail. We were depending on friends and family for pics for a while, so thanks to Emerson's mom, we have these precious pics from Emma's school Christmas program. They looked so adorable and Emma was so proud of their hard work learning signs and playing instruments for the Christmas songs they sang. Everyone was invited afterward to eat cookies in their classroom... so sweet!

And the verdict is in...

Guesses while in the waiting room at the doctor...

Daddy: a boy

Mommy: a boy
Emma: a girl

Reese: a firetruck

And...

Doc says HE looks perfectly healthy- praise God!
And thankfully I will not be giving birth to a firetruck- phew!

AND our new baby niece,
Paige Caitlin Gross was born this morning at 9:26 at 8 lb 1 oz, 21 in
She is totally precious and we can't wait to meet her!

First Snow!

When we got home today, Emma ran to her room, got in full snow garb and darted outside to try her hand at snowballs and snow angels. Oh, the joy of Indiana for kids. :)