A warm thanksgiving with family etc...part 2

So here are a few more. Check out the gingerbread house that all of us made...kind of silly that we didn't even eat it...but it sure looked good. Ok, so Grace and her cousin Hannah ate some as we went along.

A Warm Thanksgiving in Florida with family and Killer Whales

So we were in Florida with nate's parents and sister and family. As you can see we did alot, and enjoyed the warm weather. Although my parents apologized for the 70 degree weather, we arrived home with snow on the ground.

Weekend away and costume b-day...

We got away for a weekend as a family to a free cabin offered by Hidden Acres over by the Aimes area. Grace was especially stoked for sleeping in a bunk bed. That's me with the kids at Hickory park. And as for the cheesehead picture well that is what the Kids wore to a friends b-day party. Grace went as fancy nancy, and Sam went as a loyal Packer fan. The cheesehead was made out of cardboard and yellow construction paper. If you want details on how to make it yourself let us know...its super complicated.

A Couple fall pics

The family pic was taken at the Iowa Homecoming parade. We had a fun time as Grace waved at everyone that would wave at her. The only sad part is that Iowa fell the next day to Northwestern after turning the ball over 5 times. Seriously...hawks give us some love.

Grace and Sam Growing

So Grace and Sam are both growing as you can see. The last week Grace has seriously ran straight for 6 minutes around the kitchen non-stop. She seems to have more energy right before bed! Sam is a cool little dude. He is just chill, and doesn't mind being held by anyone. He is also sitting up by himself. They love each other well and continually laugh at one another.

Sam's contagious laugh

So, we always knew that Grace had a special ability to make Sam laugh, but this was great. He simply couldn't contain himself. Grace was sitting on the potty and just dropping her doll, and Sam thought this is the best thing since sliced bread, or in baby terms: best thing since rice cereal.

Time with the Meyers

As part of our vacation, we spent a couple of days with Amanda's parents. I love this pic with Papa Ray and Grace because this sums up the experience: just hold on!!!

The twins with Sam

Josiah and Abigail are good friends of ours. The kids love Sam so much...whenever we see them, the two of them give Sam such great hugs.

Goin Fishin

Last Sunday, Grace went fishing for the first time. Her Uncle Nate and Aunt Kacie have a pond near their house for fishing. We caught a total of 5 fish!!! Getting a two year old to sit still was a challenge, but here is one pic of her waiting for a bite.

Hoberts visit Hoberts

Nate's parents came to visit us for a couple of days. We do love our son, we just couldn't get many pics of him. We had a great time with Bruce and Liz. The grandparents took a ton of pics of Sam, and they had a great time playing along with Grace (playing at the playground, tracing hands, etc...)

Swimming Time...

We enjoyed time at the Coraliville pool during our staycation. Grace loved the water and even went under a few times! Sam just chilled...

Last Couple Weeks

We have had fun on our vacation/stay-cation. We traveled to Story City to perform a wedding, then traveled to Spencer and spent time with Amanda's fam. Now, we are enjoying our last night of our "staycation" in Iowa City. Here is a pic of Grace comparing her "wingspan" to an eagle's at a nature center.

Sand Box

So its official the Hoberts now have a glorious sandbox. I (Nate) got to use my drill, a huge drill bit, a chop saw and a shovel of course. They actually had left over sand at Parkview so Barry Franz from Church brought about 2 tons of sand over (that's us on the bed of his truck unloading it). It has become a daily routine to go out and play in it. Yesterday I got to bury Grace's legs and feet atleast 50 times. So with that said, anyone is open to come and enjoy this sand haven.

Summer Times...

So here are a few pics from the last week. We had a sweet time at the Coralville Pool. I think I (nate) had more fun then the kids. They have some amazing slides there! These days Sam is smiling a lot, and Grace is still repeating back everything you say and inbetween saying "I do it"

Grace and Her Boy Cousins

I know I'm not the best blogger. I have thought about doing it, but it has been a crazy couple months for my family. I'm going to try to catch up for a little bit. Right now, here are some pics of Grace with her cousins Isaiah and Phin. Sam did not make these photos because he probably would have been mauled. But, these were taken when we surprised my mom for her retirement this year.

Our Trip to Minneapolis

We went to Minneapolis to see Nathan's brother in law, Jason, graduate from Luther Seminary. We had a great time spending the time with Nate's family. We swam a lot, went to the zoo, and enjoyed conversatios.
Grandpa and Grandma did a great job hanging with the kids at the zoo. It looks like my mom is more excited than Hannah and Grace in the pumpkin ride...

We are witnesses to Jason getting his diploma after 5 faithful years. Congrats Jason!!!

Hannah and Grace had much fun in Minneapolis together. Here they are at Olive Garden, waiting for their food.

Random thoughts

We had Nana and Papa Meyer here this weekend for my (amanda's) bro's graduation. We had a good time celebrating with him.
My Mom's friend, Marjean, gave a Wheels on the Bus book to Grace. Needless to say, she's a big fan. When sitting on the potty (yes, she is going potty on the big girl potty for about a week with more and more success), she sings the song. Maybe we'll post the video of the song (without being on the potty, of course). She sings all the parts of the song, but her favorite is the bus driver who calls, "Move on back!"
Sam is doing well. He seems to converse with people around him. His smiles are contagious, and he is a delight.
Oh, and by the way, Sam had his two month appointment, and Grace had her two year appointment. Both are healthy. We can't keep plants alive, but we seem to be doing much better with our kids by the grace of God :-)
I've been so thankful for my kids lately. There's been challenging days, to be sure, but sometimes I just look at them and think about how they will never be this age again. This thought helps me think through tough times. I'm starting to read verses over and over to Grace, and the one we're working on is Ps 118:24...it's in every kid's Bible book. "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." And, wouldn't you know, a verse I've known for almost my whole life took on a new application. God ordains and plans for me days of cleaning diapers, feeding kids, maintaining order, and of course.....laundry. Sure, I don't wrestle through deep theological issues like infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism like I did in seminary (which in my opinion, no one knows anyway). But, theological concepts that I've learned over the years do have direct appliation to raising children. Laundry, for example, is a result of God's goodness. He gives me, a human, a mirror to see who He is....making order out of chaos. (except, I'm not good at this when it comes to socks...I have enough mismatched socks to feel like it will always be chaos.) So, those are a few of my ponderings.

Daily Happenings

At one point over the past weeks Grace wanted Sam to take a nap with her. So, as you can see, it worked really well. At least they had fun. Grace, as the big sister, loves her brother. Each morning she wakes up, one of the first two words are "mommy" and/or "baby" which means Sam. As you can tell, Sam has been working out. The "rolls" on his arms looks like he has muscules when we hold up his hands like this. Our favorite questions for Sam are: "Which way is the weight room?" and "Did you get tickets for the gun show?"

Grace loves play-doh. As seen below she often unceasingly asks Dad to make her a slide. In case you were wondering, that is a play-doh slide below.

Grace turned 2 on April 1st. She enjoyed her cake as well as having Grandpa and Grandpa Hobert visit all the way from Florida.

Sam doing "tummy time;" when one part suffers, all suffer with it.

Grace And Colors

Here are a few pics over the last weeks. Sam is doing well, he gained a pound and a half in 2 weeks after being born. Grace is a proud sister, who loves Sam who she calls "baby." Coming soon will be pictures of Grace's birthday.

Samuel Nathan Arrives

At 5:51 am exactly on his due date Samuel Nathan Hobert entered the world. He was 8 pounds 10 Ounces upon arrival. Amanda was a champ and in 3 hours and 20 minutes of labor he was here. One of the first descriptives of him was that he has big feet. Everyone is doing well.

A moment with Grace...