Saturday, March 29, 2008

"Slugs", Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails. . .

Slugs, snails, and puppy dog tails that's what our little boy is made of!

California continues to have some new, exciting discoveries for the younger Wickers (since I'm younger than Lloyd, I'm including myself - I've haven't lived in this climate before:-)) Yesterday late afternoon it rained and when I went outside for a moment, I discovered my first snail. A closer look at the sidewalk revealed a number of snails and little slugs. It was quite exciting for me so I called the kids outside -- and then I couldn't get them back in. Andrew would just run from one snail to the next and refused to be lured back into the dryness and warmth of the house. Anika was nervous at first but once she overcame her apprehension she had fun discovering whole families of snails. "There is a Mom, Daddy, and brother snail" she told me. They were soaked and dirty when they finally came in but it was a fun adventure. (Lloyd teases me that I was as excited as they were. . . It was old hat for him; he even confessed to torturing poor snails with salt when he was growing up. I'm going to try and prevent Andrew from learning that!!)


I wish I had a better shot of the snail but once Scout sniffed it and Andrew touched it; the poor thing wasn't coming out of its shell for anything. When we first saw it, it was slowly moving across the sidewalk with its antenna up.



Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter Celebration

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday in our new church. We started with a breakfast at church, then an amazing worship service. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with our neighbors, the Vander Veens. They also spoiled our kids with an Easter hunt. Our evening was a combined Easter cantata with the other CRC churches in town. It was beautiful and we enjoyed some great fellowship after the service. God is so good!


Here are a few pics of the family.
Anika and Andrew didn't care for the bright sun (at least in their eyes - we loved the warm spring day!)
The fam:-)

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Coloring Eggs

We haven't done this with Anika before, but this year we colored some eggs. She is beginning to understand more and more about this Holy Week. Our church's Children in Worship program does a really nice job of following the church calendar so she has been counting down the week until Easter for awhile now. Then, she (of course) really got into the whole new clothes for Easter thing. It is neat to watch her process this. Yesterday she said, "is this the day Jesus' dies?" She isn't quite sure of the past nature of these events that we haven't yet celebrated.


Expanding Waist Line

Well, we are getting down to weeks instead of months:-) I'm at about 32 weeks -- and feeling it! I've been having more contractions than with the other two and my mid-wife told me to take it easy. Yeah, right! How am I supposed to do that with a 2 and 4 year old to chase around? I am doing my best to ignore the dust bunnies, splattered mirrors, spotted floors, etc. but it isn't easy:-) Anika has been a great helper, especially in the last few days. She sure is growing up.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Teenage already????

Anika was talking to Nana on the phone tonight and I just had to laugh (and snap a pic). She looks like such a teenager and she can talk for hours too.

Monday, March 17, 2008

The Kids

Just a few pictures of the kiddos. (Andrew is struggling with an eye problem - maybe a sty - so we're going to see the dr. tomorrow. It is really obvious in this picture which is why I'm including the disclaimer!)

My Little Lady

Anika's newest "outfit" made me laugh. She looks like a little old lady, doesn't she? She is always coming out of her room in a new and creative ensemble.


Saturday, March 08, 2008

Tea Party again. . .:-)

Anika talked me into a "real" tea party today. While she was with Nana for a week, she learned the fine art of tea time. (Nana gave her some real tea with cream and sugar). So today, she finally convinced Mom to do it too:-) We enjoyed a bite of cake and a sip of tea at her table from Grandma. (I tell ya I don't fit so nicely at that little table at 7 months pg.) Scout sat close by to catch any crumbs. Scout is slowly becoming accustomed to our new home but she still sticks really close to us.





We're gonna miss this. . .

Many, many days Lloyd and I collapse at the end of the day and wonder how we made it through. ("Amen", from the other parents of toddlers out there. . .?) But sometimes we have to stop and remind ourselves how quickly this precious time is going. Anika is 4 going on 14 and Drew just keeps growing as well. So, I asked Lloyd to snap a quick pic of our nightly routine - snuggling in Anika's bed to read a story (or two, or three, or. . .) These moments will be just memories all too soon, but I do cherish them.

Then the next morning Anika was snuggling with Daddy on his day off (she likes to scratch his back) and so she asked me to take a picture. We need to preserve these moments somehow:-)


Cinder-eller

I've posted pictures of Anika "helping out". Now Andrew is getting in on the action. I can't vacuum without allowing Andrew a turn. He LOVES to zoom that thing around - and there is plenty of carpet to cover in the new house:-)


Saturday, March 01, 2008

A short visit

We were so excited to see Nana and Auntie Rachel again! They were on their way to a conference in San Jose so they stopped for a night. We sat out front and watched the kids on their trikes until Anika talked Auntie Rachel into painting her nails. What fun, sitting in the sun, doing nails, watching kids. . .


Get yer motors runnin'



PS Andrew is wearing my helmet in these pictures because he can't be left out. He has to do everything that Anika does -- to the point that when she tripped walking home from church and started to cry, he immediately threw himself to the ground and began to sob, too - sigh!

Calming the Storm

Anika has been enjoying learning Bible stories in Story Hour, Children in Worship, and now MOPS. While she was outside yesterday, she told Andrew that the mat was a boat. Then she instructed him to lay down in the boat and sleep "like Jesus" while she enacted the raging storm and sea. (Then they switched! Andrew was a willing participate but I'm not sure how much he understood!)

Creative Moments

The kids each recieved a fun pack at our MOPS group earlier this week. It contained crayons, colored pencils, etc. We had a nice moment together one morning being creative.
I hope Andrew's stabbing motion isn't something to be concerned about:-)