Confession

Here is my confession - for the past 3 months I have been taking the kids to a chiropractor that works with a ton of kids in our area. They are a husband/wife team and have 4 kids that go to the same school that Grace is at. It all started because from the middle of September to the middle of October I was at the doctor at least once/week for one of the kids. I was at my wits end with ear infections, sickness and antibiotics. I had heard from a friend at work whose little boy struggles with respiratory problems and chronic infections about this husband and wife team. Of course I was completely skeptical since I had never been to one but I decided it couldn't hurt. For the first month or so I took them every week. We are now down to every other week and hopefully soon will only have to go as needed or monthly. Since I've started taking them in October I have not been back to the doctor. Maybe it's a huge coincidence. But for this time of year that's pretty amazing for the Hastings household. :) Coincidence or not I'm so excited that they are doing so well (knock on wood)!

Preschool from a girl's perspective

When I pick Grace up from preschool I always ask what she did, what she had for a snack, if she learned anything new, what centers she did etc. She always answers all of my questions but it is ALWAYS followed by, "Mom, you know what?! Lucy was wearing tights with polka dots on them and Gillian got a haircut! Kirsten had a dress on with tights! Hannah was wearing boots with buttons on them!" And so on and so on...

If you want to check out some pictures of Grace's preschool class go to this link and click on the little pictures to enlarge them. It's pretty entertaining to have her beside me commentating while I look at the pictures. :)

Two troublemakers

I love this picture! :)

Backseat Driver

I was driving home from school enjoying the fact that I was going home for the day when from the backseat comes, "Mom, mom, mom you just went through the light and it was yellow and you didn't stop!" Who knew she'd start ratting out my driving this young...she'll often tell me "You're going too fast mom!" Usually this happens after I make a turn. Of course I always have a reason for why I do what I do. :)

'Tis the Season

At church this morning they shared this video. It made me tear up which I scolded myself for but then looked around and noticed many others dabbing at their eyes. It's such a powerful song. Apparently a couple of weeks ago this happened at the mall in Toledo too. I wish I would've been there!

Also - you can either click on the video and it will take you to the site so you can watch it full screen, or you can just watch it here. I figured out that you have to let it load almost half way before starting it unless you want to have it stop to load every few seconds which gets very irritating. Enjoy! :)

Happy Birthday Samuel!

Our little man is already 1? How quickly a year goes by!

At 1 Samuel...

crawls everywhere

walks around holding onto our fingers

cruises on the furniture and anything else he can

had his first hair cut

loves balloons and balls

loves playing peek-a-boo, rolling balls back and forth, playing how big is Sambam and giving high 5

is known as the following: Sam, Samuel, Sambam, Bam-o, Samwell

is eating us out of house and home

loves music and dancing - his favorite song is Dr. Knickerbocker, followed closely by The Hotdog Dance

has 8 teeth and is working on his molars

says "mo" (more), "ah dah" (all done), "ma", "mum" and "dad"

has gotten way better about not shrieking when he wants more food

loves milk

has learned that he can make lots of interesting faces using his eyebrows and lips (I'll try to get a picture sometime)

loves water and anything dealing with water (baths, swimming, brushing his teeth, washing his hands etc.)

is always interested in what Grace is doing

still needs 2 naps a day and is in bed between 7-7:30 every night

knows where his tongue is (see picture below)

Happy Birthday Samuel! We love you!

Grace Moments

On Friday I didn't have school because of conferences so I took Maggie in to be groomed. When we dropped her off she was a gnarled, matted mess because she hates to have her hair combed if it's anywhere close to her head or bum. The kids and I dropped her off and then went off to a playground for the couple hours Maggie was at the vet. When we picked her up the groomer brought out an almost shaved Maggie Moo with a pink bandanna (or band aid as Grace calls it). Grace looked at Maggie and looked at the groomer and said, "That's not Maggie, that dog has a tiny head!" The groomer thought it was hilarious and I've been asked numerous times since if Maggie's head is going to grow back. She did go from looking like a lion to a squirrel. :)

On Saturday evening I made the mistake of telling Grace that Sunday morning before church we would go eat breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Chupp because Jill, Eben and the boys were there. At 5 a.m. (granted with the time change it was actually 6 a.m. which is when the kids typically have to get up) I had a flashlight shining in my face and opened my eyes to a fully dressed - down to the coat and hat - G. Marie. As soon as she saw my eyes she said, "Mom, I'm ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's!" I told her to get the flashlight out of my face and go play until I was up (I'm such a grouch in the morning). :) She must have because she left the room and I didn't hear from her again until 7 when I woke up.

She has been on a finger painting kick every night before bedtime. Tonight she informed me that she was painting a picture for Grandma and Grandpa and they should probably write a thank-you note to her. That girl...