Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Michigan. The minivan performed wonderfully in transporting two little girls and all of the gear across three states. The girls did relatively well on the drive. We had two dinners, one with each side of the family and it was so great to introduce Brinn to Berrien Springs. Another highlight was finally meeting Adison Hildebrand and our "Thanksgiving Friday" tradition of hanging out with her parents.




Click here are the rest of our Thanksgiving pictures.

And, speaking of holidays, here are our Halloween pictures.

17 Months Old

Can we brag about our toddler for a few minutes here? She is changing every day recently. Her vocabulary is taking off! New word yesterday: "meat". That's a pretty useful one since she eats that and everything else in sight. One of our favorite words to describe her is "bold". She eagerly attacks the world with such enthusiasm she often wears us out. She loves, loves, loves taking a bath, seeing animals (especially Grandma's cat),saying "hi" to anyone crossing her path, laughing at her own jokes, playing with older kids, and of course, her sister. She (like her parents) is a child of routine and is proud to be able to anticipate what is happening next in the day, whether that is praying before bed or pushing her daddy out the door in the morning. Oh, and she can do a killer buffalo impression.

Recent quotes from Mali

While getting dressed for church--
Kaethe: Mali, you look so cute.
Mali: Yeah!


Picking Jonathan up from work, Brinn sleeping in her car seat--
Jonathan: Hi Mali! I'm so happy to see you!
Mali: Shhhh! (Then pointed at Brinn and wouldn't even look at Jonathan!)


Looking forward to seeing her friend Jack--
Kaethe: Jack's coming over!
Mali: JA!
Kaethe: That's right, "Jack". You two are such good friends. He's probably your best friend. Who is your best friend, Mali?
Mali: Sister!
Kaethe and Jonathan: Awww...

Two months old

Ten pounds, eleven ounces! Still gaining about one once per day!
(Unfortunately, these pictures don't capture her precious smiles).





And yes, she's also the proud owner of a Daddy with a beard. Mike, I think you might lose this one. I like to think that the free time he has from not shaving in the morning he can use for diaper changes.

Another fun fall weekend

We have been really taking advantage of the beautiful Pittsburgh weather this fall. Seriously, I think the climate here is wonderful. Here is an album of the past few weekends we shared with visiting family.

Our girls

Jonah Howard Kurth...

has arrived! Our friends, Derek, Karianne, and Kaeta have a brand new little boy in their family. We are so thankful for a safe and uncomplicated birth. However, we're a little thrown off that he's a boy. None of our friends have had boys recently. In fact, when we heard that the Kurths may be going into labor, I said to Mali "maybe baby Greta is here" (Greta being a name that they were considering for a girl). Mali gave me a confused look...and made the sign for gorilla. We had been calling the baby "Greta Gorilla" ever since then. And now we have to get used to saying "Jonah".

We'll be travelling to Texas in December for his baptism. We've never had a baby godson before.

Now back to making the wedding plans for Brinnly and Jonah...

Happy Halloween

Lots more pictures to follow!