Grant is Four!

Dear Grant,

You are four, my sweet middle child!  It is crazy to think that just a year ago I felt like we were only getting to know you as you had just begun to really talk.  This year you finally decided to be potty trained, much to my great relief!  You are in one moment sweet and loving and in the next emotional and dramatic--the highs and lows are so extreme.  I know this comes with the age, and I know that you will outgrow this.  It has been fun to see you and Jack begin to play with each other and interact more as peers, bonding over your love of all things "bathroom."  You are still in love with trains, and your preschool teacher and I love how you rarely call them "trains" but prefer to use the terms "locomotives" and "choo-choos."  You are definitely all boy, jumping from high places and playing in dirt.  Your social side has also begun to emerge, and it's neat to hear that you have friends (Logan and Bode) from school, even if it does mean that Miss Rachel has to rearrange your seats during circle time.  I love how you cuddle with me to read books and how you seem to have a natural curiosity about the world.  I pray that God will work in your heart this year, and speak to you as you memorize His Word in Cubbies.  I love you! 

 

Grant enjoying Chuck E. Cheese's on his birthday

blowing out his four candles on his chocolate cake with chocolate frosting that we ate with chocolate ice cream--can you tell this boy loves chocolate? :)

my little boy, less than 36 hours old--sleeping away (He was, and still is, a great sleeper!)



A step back in time...

Last weekend we used the free tickets we received in the mail (not sure if it's because Ryan is a history teacher or if it's because we are just lucky like that) to visit the Indiana Historical Society.  I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to going.  Ryan and I went a long time ago (maybe soon after we were married?), and as interesting as it was, I didn't really think the kids would enjoy it. 

So I was wrong.  They have done a lot of updates to make it more interactive, and the kids really did have a fun time.   They had a touch screen that Jack and Caroline had fun playing with and exploring different areas of Indiana. 

Don't they look so cute?  Jack does so well with Caroline.

They also had these areas where you literally stepped through pictures.  They had pictures projected onto very light water mist so you could see it and step through it, as if you are stepping into that moment in time.  It's sort of hard to explain, but when you would go through it, there were actors playing the people in the picture, and you could interact with them by asking questions about their lives, etc.  Jack's favorite one was a speech given by Robert Kennedy in Indianapolis the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot.  I think he liked it because it was more like a video.

There was also a jail cell for a bootlegger.  Jack wore the police officer's hat and all the kids hung out in the cell next to the inmate's.  We didn't really explain what a bootlegger was--not sure they would have understood anyway.

Another fun thing we did was learn how the museum restores historical documents.  We practiced some of the methods by repairing tears in envelopes, and the boys did really well with it.  Caroline tolerated being in the same location with not much to do pretty well also.

Caroline wanted to get in on the action and kept putting one of the tools into the wet sponge.  I figured there were worse things she could be doing, but Jack looks like he was making sure she was not messing anything up!

I helped Jack smooth out some of the tissue paper you use to make the repairs while the museum worker helped Grant.

We will probably go back at some point when they change the pictures.  I would definitely recommend it as something to do--not quite the children's museum, but a nice change of pace for us!



Two Hands!

Dear Jack,

You are now able to show your age with TWO HANDS!  I know that before long you will be more than two hands old and unable to use them to show your age.  This was your first year of school where you were not in my building, and you have done well with your teacher and class, in spite of my fears and concerns.  You are still a reluctant learner, but I know it will come.  Your energy, though not seen by most people, livens up our house.  You definitely keep us on our toes and have taught me so much about myself, both the good and the bad.  You are leader and are maturing into the responsibility that role carries with it.

This year you caught your first fish.  You graduated from preschool even though you were too sick to attend the ceremony.  You made new friends and joined Awana, discovering the joy of hiding God's Word in your heart.  You made the most important decision you could make by asking Jesus into your heart while we were driving home from Costco.  You and Grant became best friends and started playing together well.  You learned to ride a bike.  You had your first loose tooth--which is still in place because you refuse to acknowledge you have it and will not wiggle it. :) You figured out the fun of video games (I'm not too excited about that one!), and you continue to entertain us with your VBS performances.  You showed us your amazing dance moves at Aunt Melanie's wedding and have wowed your kindergarten teacher with your dancing.  Love it!

Five has been a big year, and I know that the next year is going to be filled with even more memories and fun with you!  I am so thankful to God for giving you to us!

Jack at 4 days old--seriously, he was the cutest thing!

6 years old--still pretty cute, even with his "little boy"-ness gone and starting to look more like a big kid! :)

What's up? Not much

It has been a little while since I've written.  I guess we got busy with our last week of vacation and then the first week back at school/work.  I think part of the reason is that we haven't really even done very much, and who really wants to hear about the day-to-day mundane that is life lately?  So here you go: some pictures of life around the Ringenberg house...



The day after we got home from St. Louis we made a visit to the doctor for Caroline's fever and Grant's finger (which got smashed in the shower door at Ryan's parents' house).  Since we were already there I decided to ask about his hacking cough that had developed the day we left my parents'.  I just assumed that he was being dramatic.  It ended up that he was wheezing and needed breathing treatments, his finger should have been seen earlier, and Caroline was fine--1 right out of 3 made me feel like a *great* mom. 

Jack and Caroline loved that Grant had to have breathing treatments because they were able to watch Diego with him 3-4 times/day.  Caroline calls him, "Day-doh."  It's so cute.

The boys played together remarkably well.  Jack commented over the break that he had the best day with Grant he'd ever had.  I think he said the same thing the next day.  I love when they play well together.  (The problem for our ears, though, is that they often bond over their love of saying "bathroom" words and being loud.)

Caroline is beginning to show more two-year-old tendancies.  She is still much slower to develop those than one of her brothers (I won't name names), for which I am thankful!  This was a meltdown moment because I'd put her coat on.  It has been such a mild winter so far that I think she still isn't quite in the habit yet.

Case in point on the mild weather--we took a walk without coats in January!  Grant drove his bike through the mud and kept looking back to see the dirt on the wheel.  The child loves wheels and dirt.

Caroline then took her turn on the bike and wore Grant's shades. 

Grant has become a hot chocolate-aholic.  Every afternoon he asks for some, which leads to him sporting a chocolate 'stache.  It's pretty silly!  Of couse, he is the kid who says, "I weawy wove chocowate." (translation: "I really love chocolate.")

Random Christmas pictures

I think we have around 350 pictures from this month so there is no possible way I can get past Christmas without posting some more from our time in St. Louis.  Afterall, we were there for 5 days--that is a lot of picture-taking time with family!  If these lovely photos are not of interest to you, feel free to bypass this post--I won't take it personally!

My sister, Melanie, read The Polar Express to these two.  I wasn't there when it happened, but I have a feeling that Caroline did not stay for the whole story.  And that is a pigtail on Melanie's face, just in case you were wondering. :)

What is it about toddlers and pianos?  Caroline is blessed to have a piano to bang on at both her grandparents' homes and to have partners in crime in both places who are her age.

We visited Chuck E. Cheese one day to burn off some kid energy, but, as you can see, the adults got in on the action as well.

Mimi and Papa with their grandchildren--It's sort of hard to see the youngest one as she is wearing red and camoflauged with Mimi's sweater.

Miss Audrey Katherine, 3 weeks old

I love this picture.  It's when my parents opened the picture that Jack drew for them.

And just one more of Audrey.  There is something quite lovely about holding a baby when you are not pregnant and not nursing and not dealing with a baby of your own.  At that point you can really feel free to snuggle, and that is wonderful.  Ryan even held her for awhile, and we both could not believe that our babies were that small.  How quickly you forget!