Auntie Heidi's visit

Auntie Heidi came to visit us this summer and we really had a good time. It was great seeing Coretta and Geno have quality time to bond with her. It is hard having her live so far away in California, so her visit was very special. While she was here, we were able to take the kids to the Como Zoo as well as Como Town to go on some rides. Coretta and Heidi definitely loved the dragon roller-coaster, viewing the monkeys as well as the polar bear. Here are some candid photos from this event!!

Tis the Season

Tis the season for the Christmas sweater, so amazingly enough I was able to find one of Coretta's old sweaters Grandma Marilyn knitted for her and it fits Geno perfectly. We went for a long walk, spent time at Como Park swinging and sliding, and did some shopping. Now that Geno is also able to handle some table food, he had his first vegetarian taco at Chipotle. He loves guacamole! Doesn't he look absolutely adorable!!

Christmas Decorating 2007

Coretta and I decided that we would get our Christmas decorating done early this year which means right after Thanksgiving. In our house, that includes listening to Christmas music, creating Christmas artwork, and decorating the Christmas tree. We have also hung the stockings that Grandma Marilyn made for us. Coretta however has asked why Geno's is so long? I told her she would have to ask Grandma!! Overall, I think Coretta really has a knack for decorating!

The sisterly and brotherly bond

Coretta and Geno definitely have an unspoken connection and Geno completely idolizes his sister. It doesn't matter where Coretta is, if he sees her, he stops whatever he is doing to stare and smile at her. I really enjoy seeing them spend time together as a parent because every parent wants their children to get along. here is a picture of them enjoying each other's company.

Coretta and Responsibility

We as parents have decided that it is time for Coretta to have a few more responsibilities around the house, and in return for her help, she will start getting an allowance once a week. Coretta's chores consist of cleaning her room, doing dishes, feeding Charlie, playing with her brother, and vacuuming. She seems to really enjoy contributing to our weekly chores and it sure helps out Mom.

Grandma and Grandpa Earnest's House

One thing that Coretta loves to do every time she visits Grandma and Grandpa Earnest's house is to find Grandpa's guitar and try to strum a few chords. I think she would really like to take lessons. To the right is a picture of Coretta focusing on strumming the guitar. The other picture to the right is of Geno and Mom. This picture was taken while I was walking behind him to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. Grandma and Grandpa just put in a new stainless steel fridge and stove and Geno of course found a way to snap the bottom part off. You can see from the picture he is not too happy to have his Mom stealing a hug!!

Chicken in a Biscuit anyone?

For the past few months I have been endlessly trying to get Geno to be self-sufficient and learn how to feed himself. Each time I try he refuses and opens his mouth waiting for me to drop the food in. One visit with Grandma Earnest and Geno was feeding himself chicken in a biscuit crackers. If we could have captured the proud smile on his face, that was priceless. Here is a picture of him feeding himself.

Grandparents love

Grandma and Grandpa Earnest sure know how to spoil my children when they come to visit. Coretta some how was able to convince them that she absolutely needed a nerf dart gun as well as a Rudolph the red nose reindeer stuffed animal. If that isn't enough, they made sure that Coretta had some of her standard favorites such as juicy juice, microwave popcorn, chips, and limitless movies! As for Geno, he warmed up to them both very quickly and soon had them waiting on him hand and foot. He sure enjoyed the freedom that a one level house can give an almost one year old. He was cruising through the house and has currently mastered the crawl and sit up move with ease. He loved to play with Grandma's rosary, her hair, her necklaces, as well as anything else she would give him. They sure know how to tire out an eight year old!

Thanksgiving 2007

This Thanksgiving it seems that we really have a lot to be thankful for. Some things in particular are our health and our families. We had a very nice time in Detroit Lakes for Thanksgiving this year. Nick out did himself again making a great spread that included turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberries, and apple pie. Although we did purchase lefse we forgot to make it! He also brought some of our home brewed beer which seemed to be a hit with the relatives. Other than getting the flu from the Turner crowd, this time together was a success. I guess the Turner's didn't want to be missed, so they blessed us with the lovely stomach flu!

1920's costume party

Nick and I had the opportunity to attend a 1920's costume party on Friday night. Although it was stated on the invitation that 1920's attire was strongly recommended, I was surprised that everyone came dressed in character. It really was a great time. We played slots, poker, ate appetizers, drank wine, danced to Louis Armstrong, all while mingling with some of the best dressed 1920's characters I know including many well known gangsters, flappers, cigarette girls, keystone cops, and we were privileged enough to also have Babe Ruth make an appearance. Here are a couple of pictures of us dressed up in our 1920's attire.

Coretta's Video on Grandpa's babysitting debut

To the right is a picture of Grandpa and his boys when he came over to babysit last Friday. Coretta and Geraldina highlighted some of their best moments when Grandpa Tom came over to babysit Geno and Coretta in this short video. I have to say that Grandpa did a superb job. He always knows how to make Coretta feel special which always includes popcorn, pop, movies, and playing games. He also taught her how to use the microwave all by herself. He survived babysitting Geno as well which is great since Geno is selective about who he is left with and it is quite common when people pick him up to get the pouty face and cry as if to say "Your not my mother!" In any case I think Grandpa and Geno are really bonding!! Here is also a picture of Granpa actually feeding Geno. Next step is diapers! If Granpa can do that, he can do anything!

Geno the entertainer

One of Geno's favorite past times is spending time in his saucer. He loves to spin as fast as he can go, he loves to jump it off the ground to move to things within the room, and rock it back and forth. This is a short clip of Geno doing exactly what I just described!

Little Hercules

Geno is almost 11 months old and is in to everything. Mom and Dad cannot even get his diaper off without a fight. Try to dress him...forget it!! He is so strong that we literally need to pin him down and wrestle with him. If this isn't bad enough, it seems that the first thing he wants to do is put his hand right into his poop.

He is still crawling around all over the place and creating mischief. He loves to play outside, but needs to be watched closely so that he doesn't try to eat a pine cone, however, his environment outside is much less restricted than when he is inside trying to pull wires out of walls and pull plant stands on top of himself.

He and Charlie have a great time playing together, however, Geno can also be too rough on Charlie. When Charlie gets annoyed or irritated Geno laughs.

He still enjoys to eat his fruits and vegetables, but now enjoys toast and cheerios as well. I have tried and tried to get him to feed himself, but he just looks at me with his mouth open as if to say, "What are we waiting for, would you feed me already!"

He doesn't speak too much, mostly yelling and laughing, and spitting, but when he really wants something, he says Mama over and over until I respond.

As for affection, this does not exist in Geno's world, but if you are the chosen one that he actually gives a three second hug to, cherish it, these are very limited.

One of his many past times are spinning around in his saucer, jumping it off the ground, or spinning himself around and around until he is dizzy. Another is bath time. If he can take a bath every day, he would because there is nothing more exciting than splashing in the water and biting on the sprayer. He also loves to dance to jazz music.

If you take away a toy he is playing with watch out because he will throw a tantrum to let you know he doesn't approve. He definitely has some fire in his personality, but mostly he is a passionate child who is not afraid to let you know how he is feeling be it good or bad.

This is Geno's 11 month update! More to come next month when he is a year old!

Our trip to MilleLacs 2007

In class last night, I learned about this new program called voice thread, so I thought it would be fun to create a slideshow from this program. What makes this program different, is that you can talk about each slide and it records your voice. I can't wait to have Coretta share with you her dialogue soon!

Crystal and the boys!

There is nothing like the morning at the Bieter house. Trying to get Coretta ready for school, Charlie needing a lap to sit on, and Geno shouting at the top of his lungs demanding your attention is quite the site to behold. I am lucky if I can squeeze one cup of coffee into the routine. I need to saver every moment of this because when I go back to teaching, I will miss out on this. Here is a recent picture of me enjoying quality time with my boys!!

The Bieter Home Brew Tasting

Nick's first batch of beer being the honey brown ale was ready for tasting on Saturday. We invited Erin and Ryan over to sample our first batch. To our amazement, it was really, really good!! We hope to make a second batch for Christmas to share with relatives. Here is a photo of Nick enjoying his beer!