Santa's Elf

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Oh how this is my favorite time of the year. I'm the annoying type that starts Christmas music in October, the second Thanksgiving is over my Christmas tree and decorations are up and my goal is to be done shopping by Thanksgiving and the presents wrapped and under the tree the first week of December. I gotta know how much Greg loves me, to put up this every year. This year has been extra fun because Jarrett has enjoyed helping...I knew he was my child:)...Greg is rolling his eyes at this point! The day I wrapped gifts was hilarious. I would wrap the gift at the table and give it to Jett to put "under the tree". After a few presents I stopped to see how his process was going - and this is what I found. He made the first present under the tree and then just started an assembly line after that. Bless his little heart, he had such a good time. We hope that you are all having a blessed Christmas season. I am always reminded of how much God sacrificed for us that night that he gave us His Son. I rejoice in the hope that He has given me and also completely humbled by His love for me and you that He sent Jesus to us. I look at Jarrett and I am in awe of how wonderful our God is and how blessed I am to be called His Child.

HOT-HOT-HOT

This past weekend we went to see my Great Grandma for the afternoon. We weren't able to have a family Christmas this year, so we wanted to spend some time with her...she is 96 years old. After college I would go down and see her every Tuesday for about a year. But since I got married and had Jarrett, I'm just not able to go down and see her as much as I would like. She just loves visitors and you can tell it completely brightens her day.

Now, I do love to visit her, but there is one thing that always makes the visit a bit

unenjoyable...and that would be the heat factor. I'm pretty sure she had it set on 90 some degrees. Being completely honest, I walked into her room and my legs immediately started sweating:)

Then tonight, Jett and I went to see my other Great Grandma...she is 97 years old. It wasn't as warm, but was soon as you walk in your want to ask...are you okay, where's the fire?:) Poor Jett, after a couple of minutes his face was bright red. So the rest of the night he ran around in his diaper. We had so much fun though. I loved seeing Jett make her so happy. She would laugh at all the stuff he would do and would comment about how busy he is. She is so proud of her Grandchilden. There is just something special about spending time with my Grandma's. They are the sweetest, most thoughtful people. I am so blessed to still have them in my life!

Update

It's been a bit since our last update, so here we go...

Greggy-poo! By the way, he hates that nickname:) Over Thanksgiving Greg had nose surgery. For years he has had problems breathing, feels tired all the time and has horrible headaches. So we finally got frustrated enough with all the medicine the doctors were throwing at us and went to see an ear, nose and throat doctor. Long story somewhat short. He has too much tissue in his nose which causes him to feel like he is breathing through straws and his cartilage was crooked. His surgery went well, but the doctor had to take out more than he thought he would, so it was a bit more painful. We had a few rough days afterwards. Lots of blood...and for those of you who don't know...I DON'T DO BLOOD! But in the last few days Greg has been feeling a bit better. He hasn't been able to fly since his surgery, until today. For almost two weeks he was home everynight. I can't tell you how wonderful that was. It was so great to spend the evenings and dinner together as a family. Momma and Jett were very happy:) He is still a bit conjested during the day and nighttime doesn't go so well. Greg can't sleep because he can't breathe well and I can't sleep because Greg's breathing sounds like an earthquake (love ya honey)! We know we need to be patient and hopefully his check-up this week will give us the answers we are looking for.

The prego. I'm doing well. I'm gaining weight like it's a race and the baby has been enjoying my ribs. Actually I feel really good and I am very blessed at this point. With Jarrett I had horrible back pain and so far I haven't had much at all! The baby is very active, which I hope it isn't a sign for what is to come:) The update for me is that after much prayer and the push of feeling like I'm going crazy, I have decided to step down from my leadership with our children's church for six months. I really enjoy it, but it is time for a break. I have been doing it for almost six years now and just need some time to go to church and be fed. So after the New Year I am done until July, unless God has other plans for me. So to explain the adorable picture above, Jarrett loves to help me in the kitchen. When I make dinner he wants to get up on the counter and help...or eat as I prepare. Isn't he so cute. Oh my goodness, I have the two most handsome men in my life:)

Jettster! Seeing that I blog about Jarrett everytime there isn't much of an update on this cutie-pie. This picture is of Jett playing in my bandana with the lint roller. You ask, does he ever play with toys?...obviously not:) He loves Christmas...he is truly my child. Every morning the first thing he does is run over the Christmas tree and say "on!" Jett also has a best friend, his name is Wesley, and they have so much fun together. His parents are friends of ours so it's been so much fun seeing them grow up together, but in the last couple months they have become buds. We were over at their house last night and the boys played hard for three hours. They would chase each other around the house, rough-house together and oh my did they laugh. The four of us just sat and laughed at them...and of course they totally fed off that and tried to be even more funny. Kids are great! They are a lot of work, but there are just those days, those hugs, and those smiles, that make it all worth it.

Weekend Get-Away

Last weekend was Greg's birthday and I was needing a break...so we went to Indianapolis for the weekend. It has been over a year since I have been away from Jarrett overnight...or for more than 5 hours at a time. It was wonderful. For a fun 48 hours I was no longer mom, but just Natalie. The only responsiblity we had was to eat and sleep. We went to nice restaurants and could sit and enjoy a meal, we went shopping without having to constantly entertain and we took naps WHENEVER WE WANTED TO:) It was so nice to spend some quality time with Greg. By Sunday we were refreshed and ready to get home.

As promised, here is an updated picture of the prego. I am 27 weeks and in my last trimester. Everything is going well and the baby is very active. I'm feeling really good, it's just getting more difficult to move around. Picking up toys and Jarrett are a bit more of a challenge these days. I'm going crazy not knowing the gender of the baby. I've even tried the old wives tales...and none of them are consistant. Greg just laughs at me and says I'll find out soon enough.

Best Buds

Entertainment for all is watching Jarrett and Samson play together. Usually what happens is that Jarrett will chase Samson around the house and then Sam with catch on and turn the tables. Jarrett is laughing the entire time, until licked. Then he stops and says "NO"! Then starts laughing and chases Sam again. This picture was taken one night when Sam was laying down and Jett just came right up to him and sat on him. Sam was a good sport until Jarrett picked up that spatula that you see and started hitting him. Sam rolled over and took Jett with him. You also might be asking yourself, "Natalie, why is there a spatula in the middle of your living room". And the answer is because out of all of his toys, he loves to play with the kitchen utensils.










Jarrett also likes to supervise Samson when he eats. He always stands right next to him (sometimes even kneels down to eye level), and watches him the entire time. Then as soon as Samson is done eating, he runs over to me and says "All done"! Then runs back and points for me:) Oh my word, this kid is so cute. I can't believe we are going to have another one.

Bayjet

In the vocabulary world of Jarrett, this word means blanket...his new best friend. Ever since birth, Jarrett has never been attached to anything - until a few weeks ago. It all started when Greg left for school. A week into him being gone Jarrett became one with his blanket (which was also mine when I was a baby). He has to have it all the time. When playing, when traveling, when changing his diaper (you get the point). Our course laundry day is the worst day of his life and as he knows it, the world is coming to an end.

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Also while Greg was gone, Jett and I had some friends over for a slumber party. Once or twice a year I have the flower girls from our wedding over for a sleepover. We had pizza, they played with Jett (which was such a blessing to me), we watched a movie and then we played "What Not To Wear". The first picture is their before and the next is after. They got to go into my closet and pick out something to wear and then I did their hair and make-up.

Holly, Ellie and Elise

Jarrett favorite thing was when the girls would push him down the hallway on his airplane. Which is nice because I'm getting a little to big for this game. Of course...he has his blanket:)

Speaking of pumkins...

Instead of "Where's Waldo"...its,

"Where's Jarrett"The day of this picture we went on a hayride through an apple and pumkin orchard. It was so much fun! Jarrett was in heaven. He doesen't understand the concept that everything that is round, doesn't mean that it is a ball. So everytime he saw a pumkin his eyes would get real big, he'd point, and say "BALL!" Needless to say, he was talking a lot.

Greg called today and he passed all of his test with flying colors...no pun intended:) Yea for my smart, handsome and soon to be home, husband!

Trick or Treat

How can you not give candy to a face like this? We had such a fun night. You know when trick or treating you go to people's homes, well, not Jarrett. We went to one house and then everyone came there to see him. Boy is he going to have a rude awakening when more grandbabies and a new sibling comes into the picture. I have a feeling that he won't allow attention elsewhere if he can help it. His outfit was so fun, I couldn't decide if he should wear the hat or not with his own orange hair. I stuffed his outfit with kitchen towels. It was hilarious from behind. I wanted to put a note that said "wide load." Everyone kept joking with him saying..."Jett, you've got junk in your trunk." Very funny!

Well, we are surviving Greg being gone, but so thankful that he comes home early Wednesday morning. I just really miss my companion. He is doing well. I think he is a bit homesick and ready to be done with school. Somedays are overwhelming with all of the information, but overall it has been really good - just a lot of reading. He has his check-ride on Tuesday morning (it's the test that says if he passes or not), so if you think about it, I'm sure he would appreciate your prayers.

Jett has been doing pretty good. I can tell that he really misses his daddy. I'm sure it's confusing to a kid when daddy has been gone so long and you can't explain why they aren't at home. I had a little situation today with Jett. This morning in the nursery he bit three kids. During the sermon one of the workers came to get me and said..."Um, we are having some problems with Jett biting and he just made a kid bleed". OH MY WORD, I thought my face had turned 10 shades of red. He has never bit anyone, ever! I was so embarrassed. My kid is the bully in nursery! We have parenting class on Wednesday, pretty sure this topic is coming up:)

Mommy's Shadow

I am so bad at writing blogs in spurts. I get so busy and then the only time I have to write is usually after Jett goes to bed, and to be honest, all I want to do is lay down. Especially over the last month. Greg has been extremely busy with work and just left this past Sunday for Hawker (a type of jet) school. He will be gone for 2.5 weeks. This week hasn't been to bad, just a little lonely. I have made lots of plans to keep us involved in the outside world, but you can't really cover missing your husband and daddy with lots of activities. It's a good attempt, but it doesn't work.Jarrett has been just blooming in personality lately. He is a firecracker! On the move all day long. He is communicating so much better. He voice is so cute and he is learning many more words and sounds. He has such a loving and tender heart. He has really gotten into becoming my little helper. On cleaning day I have to watch where I step because he is always right beside me. He is so sweet and has such a heart to help. His new favorite thing is to "help" me wash the dishes. As you can see by the picture, we get the step stool out, he climbs up...and mostly just plays in the water. By the end, I'm wet, he's wet, the floor and cabinets are wet. I'm such a sucker and let him help me everytime, it just brings him such joy. My luck, when he is finally old enough to really help, it will be the age where helping mom is no longer fun or cool.

A miracle

This past week I had an ultrasound done of the baby and it was amazing. We never had one with Jarrett, so this was such a special experience with this child. Even through this pregnancy I am still in awe of our creator and how much detail and care he puts into each of this children.I must say I'm pretty proud of myself. Greg and I really do not want to know the gender of the baby. We didn't for Jarrett and we loved the surprise and even though it would be really nice to know, we want that same experience. Greg was unable to go to the ultrasound because at the last minute he got called to work, so my mom came with me. Anyway, it took everything in me not to find out. In the moment of seeing my child for the first time, I just had the urge to know. So at the end of the ultrasound I casually asked her if she had an idea of the gender. She said that she did look while in that area and she was pretty sure she knew what it was...and I left it at that...talk about willpower. The baby looks great and weighs 12 oz. I am now 21 weeks (halfway there:), so I thought I'd bring you along monthly as I being to show, especially for those of you who can't see the real thing. I really popped this week, so that is very exciting.
I think Greg is desperate for some attention:) Don't worry, he really is pushing out his stomach.

Playtime at Grandpa's

"Jarrett, sometimes you just need to think outside of the box."

Never Alone

This past month has been a trying time for me. Greg has been extremely busy with work, which has left me and Jett spending a lot of one on one time together. I love being a stay at home mom (best job in the world), but one downside is if you have a husband that has to work all the time, it can get a bit lonely. In the last three weeks we average seeing Greg about 5 hours each week. Although, he was home all Saturday and Sunday, which was such a blessing. So during the long weeks of having to be a "single mom", I find that God is so faithful. Most of the time I get cabin fever, so some part of the day we go somewhere. It's so neat to see how God answers my prayers with my lonliness and reminds me that I am never alone.

Like the other day I took Jarrett to the park and my brother and his wife were there with their kids (they don't even live in the same area of the park). It was such a great surprise and even though we were only there together for about half an hour, it just totally brightened up my day. I think it did for Jarrett too (he gets a little bored playing with mom all the time).

I also find it a blessing to live so close to most of our family. It's so nice to have people drop by and so easy for Jett and I to stop at their houses too. Some exciting news is that Greg's sister, Darcy and her husband, Darin are expecting their first child. We are so happy and looking forward to a little Holsopple. They only live a mile away, so I'm already getting excited about play-dates:)

Hours of entertainment

There is no exaggeration in the statement of "hours of entertainment". In the last few months Jarrett has become such a busybody. He is constantely on the move and always looking for something to do. But once he does find something to entertain himself with, he is focused:) An example of this was a few weeks ago I took him to a family reunion on a lake and it was his first encounter with sand. Oh my goodness, he had so much fun. He put sand into the bucket, took the sand out, put it back in...you get the picture. It even started to rain and he could have cared less. He just kept playing soaking wet. He is very cute when he is "working". He will put his blocks on the couch and then decide they need to go on the other couch, oh but wait, they need to go on the floor, no just kidding, I should put them....

He is also into reading. Not so much when you read the book to him, but he loves to point and you say what it is. Or when you ask where something is. He is so cute when people come over because he will run and get a book then go over and pat the couch for you to sit and read with him.

I've been talking a lot about Jarrett today because I am having a mommy-moment. He is growing up so fast. He is turning into such a handsome little boy...not a baby. His personality is really starting to bloom, he's trying to talk and communicate and he is enjoying playing independently. He understands probably 90% of what we say to him. I think that with the baby coming soon (we are halfway there) I'm realizing all of the changes that will be happening. Good changes, but changes. Jarrett and I have such a special bond and even though there will be good change with the new baby, it will change my time and focus with him. But then I think...my brother survived and he's normal:)

Updated House Pictures

Daddy's Little Helper

Jarrett is now at the age that Daddy always has a little shadow. It is very cute. If Greg is using a screwdriver and puts it down to do something else, Jett picks it up and goes to the same place Greg was and does what he did...you can tell that he feels like such a big boy. We are seeing some progress on the house. Greg has painted the kitchen and living room. Everything is unpacked on the main floor, just waiting for the rest of the rooms to be painted. We are really enjoying the house and finally making it feel like home. "Hey dad, where should I put this?"

Home Sweet Home

We have offically moved! Not the best picture, but it will do for now. We moved in three weeks ago and our lives have been full of unpacking and painting. We are very happy with the house and enjoy all the room. Jarrett loves it. We close off all the rooms except for his room so he can run around the house all day and we don't have to worry if he is getting into something. Except one day we found out that he can take off the vent cover in his room and we found it full of blocks...just a glimpse into the life of this very busy boy. Once we get a bit more settled I will put up more pictures.
A quick update...Greg is staying very busy as always. They got a new jet at work so we pretty much won't see him until November. Jarrett is starting to say more words (he can say "more" and "all gone"...of course all related to food...man can this kid eat. I am feeling so much better and finally out of my baby sickness. I am now 16 weeks, starting to show a bit and just waiting to feel the first little kick. The baby is doing great and the heartbeat is strong and very easy to find now. Thanks for your prayers:)

BIG NEWS

Sorry about the blog being down for a bit - mechanical difficulties. But we are up and running with lots of big news. The first and most exciting is that we are expecting again! Yahoo! I am already 10 weeks along and am due on February 24th. It's been a long month and a half for me...got the pukes bad. Greg has been such a great support, he lets me complain and cry whenever I want to...and he's playing the role of mom and dad when he's home to help me out more - I'm so lucky! The way we told our family is we made a shirt for Jarrett that read, "I'm gonna be a BIG brother". Everyone at first had a confused look on their face and then utter excitement. We are so happy and looking forward to this new addition to the family. I had a doctors appointment last Friday and heard the heartbeat...I forgot how that is my favorite sound in the world:) Oh, and this picture is from last week. I had to get fitted for the dress for my sisters wedding so I had to use a fake belly so I knew which dress to get. Gosh, flash backs to big momma!

Okay, big news #2...we are moving! Our house "sold" pretty fast, we had an offer three weeks after we put the sign up. We love the couple that are buying the house, they are so sweet. They are perfect for the house and we are so excited for them. Our house is so special to us (ya know, the first home attachments), so we are releaved that someone is buying the house that loves it as much as us and will take great care of it. More good news that goes with that, is that we have found a house to move into. I wanted to put a picture up, but it won't let me, so hopefully I can post one soon. We will be moving into a subdivsion (a bit closer to my parents and when Greg's sister and her husband move into their new house, only 30 secs. from them). I can see Darcy and I down the road spending lots of time together with our kids, fun-fun! The one thing about this new house is that there isn't much yard (we are used to 1.3 acres), but we realized that right now we just use our yard to mow it, so a smaller yard might be nice for awhile.

Big news #3...Greg's band opened up at our county fair for Mark Schultz. It was so exciting and such an amazing experience. They played in front of 8-10000 people. They did so great. Greg has this one part where he gets out front on stage and gets the crowd clapping - wow was he hot, and all mine:) Once again...I'm getting nowhere posting pictures!

Well, that's it with all the big news I think. Lots going on in the Replogle household. We would love your prayers for the baby and our crazy life in general right now. Good news for me, I'm counting down hopefully only two more weeks of feeling yucky...ah, to wake up again and not have to barf! Gees, I just realized I didn't talk about Jett in this blog, now that just can't happen. He will be 15 months on Sunday, I can't believe how fast he is growing up. He is just a walking machine and on the go ALL THE TIME. He learned his second word - Ball...and says it every chance he gets. He is learning all of this body parts...my favorite is the tongue. He'll stick it out and say "ahhh". He understands almost everything we say, but only chooses to listen when he wants to. I can't believe how much my boys capture my heart.

Are We There Yet?

Driving. Driving. Driving. That about sums up what our vacation felt like. We finally got to Greg's sister and husbands house in Tennessee late Sunday night, just in time for bed. Jarrett was such a litte trooper. Monday we got up and just relaxed for the day. Greg and I went out on a date that evening...dinner and a movie. It was really nice, but we were both looking forward to getting back and spending more time with Denise. The day we got there Andrew started working nights, so unfortunately we didn't get to see much of him on our trip. Tuesday we went for a walk in the morning. We went without Denise and we were searching for the playground for Jarrett. So we asked this lady for directions...I think she was sending us to North Carolina. So we turned back and decided to go walk at the mall. In the afternoon we went with Andrew and Denise to this boathouse. It was so beautiful. Jarrett wasn't so sure since he fears water, so he was fussy most of the time. Plus, he had to wear a life jacket the whole time, not a big fan. Wednesday we decided after a few days of a very fussy and unhappy child that we had had enough vacation and wanted to go home. So on the way home we went to the Knoxville Zoo for the day with Denise. We had a good time, but by the end of the day Jett was ready to go. It was so cute. He learned his fisrt word on our vacation. Puh, Puh (puppy). So at the zoo every animal that had fur and four legs was a puh, puh. Of course his favorite animal was the pig...not like he couldn't have driven down the road from our house to see them. I really enjoyed the zoo, it's been years since I've been to one. Greg loved the monkeys. They make him laugh everytime. My favorite is when a mokey comes on a commercial and Greg laughs from beginning to end. We stopped halfway for the night on the way home and then got home Thursday early afternoon. Just in time for some fat naps.

Wedding Bells

Ah, the happy couple. Lee and Becca Snider. This is the only picture you will see because my camera quit right after this picture. You'd think I would have been smarter to check the batteries before the wedding. The wedding went great! We got out to Ohio on Friday and got settled in and then went to the reheral dinner. It felt like we were driving forever. Wherever we went it took at least a half an hour to get there. There was a little girl that came to the reheral, her name was Becca (named after our Becca)...and Jarrett was in love. He followed her around all night, it was cute, but tiring for mom.

The wedding went very smoothly and was very sweet. Greg played piano in the wedding and did such a great job. He is so gifted. He can't read music, he plays by ear, which always amazes me. It's so neat to watch him learn a new song and how quickly he can play it just by listening. The reception was so much fun. It was nice to spend the evening with family and friends...and of course to cut a rug. I think my favorite was when my niece Hope came out to dance YMCA, that girl can move:) This is a picture of my brother and mom - so cute! Here's another lovely couple if I say so myself:)

Here's lookin' at ya

Will he ever stop pointing?:) New news for the Replolges, we put our house up for sale. We hear that it's the popular thing to do lately and don't want to be out of the loop:) Actually we found this great house that we wanted to buy and in one day we decided to put it up for sale. Greg took the day off and we worked like crazy around the house getting it presentable. Then yesterday we got the news that the house we were looking at sold, just our luck. But it did kick us in gear to put our house up for sale. Two more days and we leave for vacation...Praise the Lord! I didn't thnk that it would ever get here. So now we are in the search of that perfect house once again. Ah, Ohio and Tennessee, here we come...

Man we stink!

Well, the Replogle household has been anything but boring the last few days. Our new "adventure" happened last night. When we went to sleep last night Greg remembered that he forgot to put Samson out to do his business. The next thing I know Greg is standing over me saying, "Nat, wake up. Do I stink?" Now that I have your attention let me rewind and tell you what happened. Greg put Samson out and wasn't dressed for public:), so he had to put him out with the lights off. When he went to get him he felt something wet all over this arms, so he brought Samson in and turned on the lights. Sam was foaming at the mouth and stunk horribly. He was sprayed by a skunk. So that's when Greg came up to the bedroom to get me for help (of course this all happened at midnight, not like after dinner when we would have time to do something about it.) So when I tell you that our house stunk, it stunk! When I came downstairs to help I almost threw up. I've never smelled anything so foul in my entire life. Plus, which made it worse is that it was all over Greg, so everywhere he went...so did the smell. Not realizing it until it was too late, Greg was in every room in the house. Poor guy, things just were not going well. Plus on top of the great night we were having, Jett is teething. So he was up almost every hour. The upstairs smell wasn't as strong, but there was a definite hint of unpleasantness. It was fine when sleeping, we had a fan attempting to blow out the smell, but everytime I got up for Jett, the smell was there and the desire to up-chuck was not far behind. So this morning we had every window and door open, all the candles burning and we are officially out of frebreeze now, but as soon as Jett woke up we were out of the house and off to Grandma's. I felt like my skin had soaked up the smell. Even after a shower and new clothes, it was still there. Of course I had to take Jett to the hospital for an check-up x-ray...talk about feeling uncomfortable. I was so nervous to stand or sit next to someone in fear that they would think I had horrible BO. Boy can I drag out a story. Anyway, so that is where our story leaves you, Greg is coming home soon to work on our little problem. He was on the internet all this morning finding ways to get rid of the smell. So if any of you ever have this problem, I'm sure after today, we will have lots of suggestions:)

Countdown has begun

For those of you who don't know, my brother Lee, is getting married! Yea! On June 24th he is marrying the beautiful, Becca Wagner. They met at college (Indiana Wesleyan University) and became good friends and just over a year ago they finally realized that they are perfect for each other. We are all so excited and can't believe that it is approaching so soon (although Lee thought it was taking forever to get here). They are getting married in Ohio - roadtrip!

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Greg and I decided that since we will be traveling to the wedding, we might as well go from there and take a vacation...and a much needed one I might add. So after the wedding we will be going to Tennessee to spend the week with Greg's sister, Denise and her husband Andrew. Two years ago we did the same vacation and it was wonderful, so we are looking forward to it again. Although traveling might be a bit different this year with a 13 month old. Wish us luck, Jett's not a big traveler. Baby NyQuil, check. Ear plugs for Mom and Dad, check. Anybody have any good traveling ideas for us?

Another day at the lake

This summer has already been so much fun. Last year with Jett so little it was hard to get outside and up to the lake cottage. But this year I think we've been there more than all of last year. This last weekend the whole Snider-clan was together. My Uncle and Aunt from Florida were here with their family for two weeks and my cousins from all over came in for the family fun! It's great catching up with everyone and enjoying all of the water fun.

Speaking of water fun, Jett got his first experience of the lake. He hated it! We were so excited to have him play in the lake, sit in a cute little floaty with his adorable new swimsuit. He screamed even if we got close to the edge of the water. Finally we compromised with the baby pool, warm water, lots of toys and being buck naked:) The other little boy is my cousin Carrie's son, Bryce...they had a lot of fun together.

Here are a bunch of my cousins doing what the Sniders do best...EATING:)

Here are my grandparents... Grandma Kaye, Great Grandma Mabel (she is 96, turning 97 in October) and Grandpa Jim.