Pandora Radio

Bill is full of ideas, most of which I do not understand (see his blog if you don't believe me). But every once in awhile, he comes up with something cool.

He just set up a Pandora radio station for me (www.pandora.com). My station is Josh Groban. It plays alot of Josh Groban (TJ was thrilled to hear them play 'Believe' from "The Polar Express"), but it also plays music it thinks is similar to Josh Groban. So far, I love it. (Bill has 3 stations set up for himself...Percy Faith, Pat Methany, and Fourplay. Can't say I'd listen to any of those!)

It's free, and Bill can't figure out why it's free. He says it must be new.

For the record, he also dressed the boys and made them cinnamon rolls this morning. Maybe he's getting sick or something.

Sam's afternoon snack

1 graham cracker square
1 small handful of peanuts
1 small handful of sunflower seeds

I am not kidding. He cries if I don't give him his peanuts and 'flower seeds'! I gave him some one night when he was bugging me for food while I made dinner. I thought they would gross him out and he'd leave me alone. Wrong!

My irresistable little man

Nolan started holding his arms up to me this week. Of course, he holds them up whenever I set him down, as he is of the opinion that he should be held constantly. Why, oh why, does he have to be so stinkin' cute (and so stinkin' clingy!)?

What a difference a year makes!

This past Sunday evening was the annual Christmas program at church. Last year, TJ had me totally mortified when he got up front and started moaning into the microphone. I had no one to blame but myself. I told him to stand still (he did), I told him to leave the hay alone (he did), I told him to keep his hands to himself (he did). Did it occur to me to talk about microphone etiquette? Nope, and I paid the price. The congregation was in stitches, but I desperately wanted the pew to swallow me up.

This year, TJ was Mr. Responsible. His class (the four-year-olds) was in charge of setting up the manger scene. TJ and his friend Drew carried the manger up. This involved TJ climbing the stairs backwards while holding the manger (I held my breath the whole time). After he set the manger down, he tripped, and then added another fake fall for effect, but kept moving toward the exit. He and his class all came back up together and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. At the end of the program, TJ was in a special choir that he volunteered for. They sang "All is Well" and "Silent Night". We had been listening to those two songs endlessly, trying to help TJ memorize them. Even Sam walks around the house, singing a few phrases from "All is Well". I hear that song in my sleep!

This was Sam's first year in the program. His class, the two-year-olds were up first. Sam was so excited to get up front that he slipped and smacked his head on the pew (we were in the front row). He started crying loudly. The congregation thought this was cute and laughed. The louder they laughed, the harder he cried. I was a little frustrated that they thought it was cute when he was hurt. He did pull himself together and got up on stage. He was just supposed to do the motions to "Away in a Manger" (he stood there and smiled) and then motions to a song called "Hush" (he puts his finger to his lips, but that's it). Toward the end of that song, he started wandering around the platform, smiling the whole time.

As usual, Cookie did a great job with the Christmas program, and the birthday party for Jesus afterwards. I wish I had half of her energy!

Eight months old!

Nolan hit the 8-month mark yesterday. This is really flying by! He's changed a lot in the past month. He's interacting so much more and we're starting to see more of his personality. I continue to be grateful every day for our little surprise.

Coming soon...to a Christmas card near you...

Once again, I am doing photo cards for our Christmas cards this year. Last year, it was a nightmare trying to get both TJ and Sam to look cute for the picture I took. This year, I decided to do three separate shots. I met a girl at a craft show who is designing a card for us, and will make it a 4x6 size (so I can print it at the regular price at Meijer instead of the photo card price).

This concept has gone extremely well so far. I was really happy with the pictures I got of the boys. Here they are, in their un-cropped versions:

The first Christmas party!

On Saturday, we had our first Christmas get-together. We (our family, Bill's mom, and Mandy & her crew) went down to Niles and spent the day with Bill's Uncle Bob, Aunt Joyce, and cousins Katherine, Jennifer and her husband, and Chris and his wife. I have no idea how long this had been planned, as I only learned about it six days earlier. Bill needs a palm pilot, a secretary, or he needs to start writing things on his hand. Thankfully, we had the day free!


The boys had a blast. Uncle Bob took TJ, Sam, and Owen out for a tractor ride. He made the mistake of showing TJ how to raise and lower the basket. Apparently, TJ slammed it into the ground a few times, making for a quick and uncomfortable stop. Sam was a bit hesitant about the tractor, so his ride was a bit shorter. Later, Dan and Kevin had TJ and Owen playing pool (with no sticks, since neither TJ or Owen is big enough to handle those).



Nolan (whose middle name is in honor of Uncle Bob) was extremely fascinated with his great-uncle. Whenever Uncle Bob was in the room, Nolan was staring at him. Maybe Nolan was trying to tell him he wanted a tractor ride too!





The boys got their annual gift of a new CAT vehicle. Audrey got a doll (finally, a child for Aunt Joyce to shop for!). Bill got a 300 ft measuring tape. He was thrilled with it. I think of it as another tool to get him in trouble. I got a green kitchen knife (it's pretty cool!) and my annual Precious Moments ornament.



It's too bad life is so busy...we always have so much fun with the Knapps! Maybe next year I can do less chasing and policing of children and have more time to sit and chat.