We're Still Here...

It's been awhile, but The Hanson Hat Trick is still here. I think the winter season/time change has really put a damper on our activities. As soon as it gets dark I'm ready for pajamas and bedtime - not blogging. (Amazing, I know.)
Needless to say, we're still adjusting to the colder weather and finding things to do inside to occupy our time. I really am missing the long days of summer being in the backyard, going for walks and finding lots of fun things to do.

Here's some highlights of the past few weeks:
* Anthony is hopefully getting over the cold junk. He started to get sick last Sunday and ever since then we have been dealing with the coughs and tons of snot. Of course he keeps wiping it away with his hand, which mean his hand and cheek/eye/ear is covered in slime. It feels like germs are everywhere in our house. Just curious - When do kids learn to blow their nose? We've been trying, but so far it has been completely unsuccessful.
* Anthony is beginning to count! Sort of... He likes to say two, three and then two, three over and over again. Sometimes he'll mix it up with another number or two, but he's really focused on just those two.
* We celebrated Rylan's - aka the Oracle - third birthday last weekend in John Deere style! It was a fun get together and it was great to celebrate another milestone in Ry's life. It's amazing to think how much he's grown and changed in just three years. He's talking so much more and is getting so big. He is a joy and we are so thankful to have him in our lives.
* This past week Anthony was feeding Zoey some "nummies" - her dog food - through the gate. He would bring over a small handful and then feed her one piece at a time. This occupied his time for a good thirty or so minutes, which was great because I was trying to make supper. At one point I looked over and saw A giving one piece to Zo and then taking one piece for himself. I feel like he's now completely initiated in to being a true kid now. Who hasn't tried dog food or worms or dirt or something disgusting?
* More words seem to be popping up in Anthony's vocabulary daily. He is constantly surprising us with his new words, phrases and sentences - crackers, Mama I would like..., etc. Just last Friday he said birth mommy without any prompting from Mark and I. We were looking at photos and we came across a picture of when he first came home. He pointed out mommy, daddy, Anthony and then birth mommy. It was really sweet and of course we had to call Cynthia right away to share the news. Hopefully this is the first step among many to understanding he's adopted and that we're all here loving and supporting him the rest of his life. Since then he's used her name several times and it's touching to know that she's a special person in his life too.

Of course we are really looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday as well as everything Christmas - visiting Santa, baking cookies, wrapping presents, being with family, playing in the snow, decorating the house, etc. Hopefully I'll be much better with updating the blog and continuing to share our lives with all of you.