I probably haven’t shared yet, but Ada LOVES Bert and Ernie (or Erniebert as she calls them) of Sesame Street fame. Friday nights are special around here because it is the one night that Ada is allowed some TV time and she always chooses Sesame Street videos.

Ada also loves to draw. (I think she gets it from her Bapa.)

Naturally the combination of these interests was bound to lead to something good.

Yesterday morning after breakfast, Ada was drawing some pictures. Not unusual. Then I hear her say “Bert eyebrow” which, again, is not unusual since she draws unibrows on EVERYTHING in honor of Bert.

I looked over and saw this:

Amazing work, child.

Yesterday, Aunt T got a new dresser in the mail. The box was, of course, filled with lots of Styrofoam chunks for padding. As the furniture was unpacked, Ada grabbed the foam pieces of different sizes and started assigning them identities: Mommy, Daddy, Ada,  and new baby.

The next step was clearly to draw faces on all the “people” in the family. And then they had to watch Ada eat her snack.

Here’s the finished product (though I wouldn’t doubt if she added more facial features or color today):

Daddy got ears and a “Bert eyebrow” (unibrow), I was lucky enough to get a beard (hahaha) and Ada’s missing a mouth, but it’s all good. What an attractive little family!

Ada’s telling jokes now. Well, her version of jokes.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the good ol’ tune “Knick Knack Paddy Whack” in which an old man gives a dog a bone. Ada loves to sing that song. Then one day, instead of giving the dog a bone, she claimed that the old man gave the dog a BOOK. Naturally, this was very funny since, you know, what is a dog going to do with a book?

This joke has now progressed to the point where she will sit in her chair and sing, “Knick knack paddy whack give a dog a… [insert object here],” for lengthy periods of time and then laugh and laugh and laugh at how funny she is.

Here are some of the most amusing items [according to Ada] which the imaginary dog has been lucky enough to receive:

• coffee cup
• fireplace
• bobblehead
• German book
• vitamin*
• pinwheel
• ottoman
• picture

Yep. That’s our kid!

*While on the subject of vitamins, Ada also informed me tonight that vitamins are only for mommies, daddies, robots and Jesus. Just in case you were wondering.

At dinner the other night, we were talking with Ada about how she’s going to have to teach her new baby brother or sister all of the important things in life. She nodded enthusiastically and then started listing off all the words of the wisdom she can’t wait to impart:

• No hitting
• No pinching
• No throwing
• No biting
• No pooping on the table

You read that last one right. NO POOPING ON THE TABLE. None of us can quite figure out how she came up with it but, honestly, it’s pretty good advice. I’ll take it to heart for sure.

Ada talks quite a bit, but it isn’t often that we get lengthy complete sentences. Tonight was an exception. What did she deliver?

“Daddy, please put away your jacket.”

That’s right. Steve had hung his coat on the cat scratching post rather than in the closet where it belongs. Ada certainly reminded him how things are SUPPOSED to be done.

It happened. With the impending (sort of) arrival of a 4th human family member, we had to say goodbye to the Civic. Although it is still technically in our possession, I’m already shedding a few farewell tears. It has been the easiest, most reliable, low-maintenance car of all time. Here’s hoping we have similar luck this time around.

Anyway, Luther in St. Cloud was having a HUGE moving sale and we decided to take advantage of the deals and treat the family to a nice little hatchback hybrid.

We now have space for two children in rear-facing seats, two long-legged adults, and one mid-sized mixed breed pup! Oh, and we should be managing well over 40 mpg during our commutes now which doesn’t make me sad.

More reports to come once we’re settled in and have found a name for the new little guy.

I know, I know. It’s supposed to be Throwback Thursday. Unfortunately the days/weeks/months always seem to get away from me.

Please enjoy a throwback to the time that Steve tackled Christmas gift wrapping:

Champion work, dear husband! On the bright side, this technique 1) is about about reusing which is good for the environment and 2) did not cause MH to enjoy her gift any less.

I’ve been fearful of posting this story because it might jinx the situation.

When we returned from Ruprecht Family Christmas, we transitioned Ada into her big girl bed. We’d been talking about it for a while, and the bed had been set up in her room for a few months so she was plenty used to seeing it. I never dreamed, though, that the move from crib to bed would be so easy.

On Christmas night, we went through the normal routine and then put her down for the night. Not a peep. She slept all night and even waited for us to come and get her in the morning.

Nap time happened the day after Christmas, and she tried to get up once telling us she needed to “read a book.” After reading one story, we put her back down and she slept peacefully for two hours.

That was our only incident. She has slept soundly overnight and for every nap since.

Ada has fallen out of bed once, but it wasn’t too traumatic. She tells the story often: “Fall out. Cry, cry, cry. Purple rug.” (She fell out and cried, but her soft purple rug caught her.)

I’m certain that things won’t always be so easy. Best to focus on the positives, though.

Small victories, y’all.

It’s about time that we officially share our biggest news with all of you: our little family is growing! Come April, Ada will graduate to Big Sister.

We’re already talking about all the things she’ll be able to do with the new baby. Of course she assumes the baby will bonk her in the head with a rattle because that’s what happens to Little Critter when he gets a new baby in the house. Only time will tell, Ada.

Here’s our extraordinarily photogenic (according to the ultrasound tech) child:

Snowpeople are typically harmless yard adornments. They are a cheerful reminder that winter is here and that we – even as adults – can still enjoy playing in the snow sometimes.

I mean, that is the case most of the time.

But take a look at the snowman Steve and Ada created on Thanksgiving:

Scary in the light

Scarier in the dark

Yep. Nothing like a terrifying snow monster to liven up the homestead. You’re welcome, world.