Fun Christmas photos

Josiah opening his first Christmas present

Isaac decorating the tree

Isaac as a shepard in the church Christmas program

Josiah in a Santa hat

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our family and friends!

We have had a wonderful year. The year started off with a bang as we welcomed our second little boy, Josiah Joel, into our family. He was born February 8th at 11pm. Life with 2 kids has kept us busy.
Craig has continued to work for the company Out On A Limb Tree Service. He stays in shape climbing trees every day! He also fills in during slow times doing projects for family and friends. I (Jennifer) have been blessed with the ability to stay home and raise our kids full-time. I have been involved with a group called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)and have loved having a chance to help out with that as well as meet other moms who are in the same stage of life as me. They have become wonderful friends. Isaac turned 3 in June. He is outgoing, loves playing with his friends, and makes us laugh every day. In October Isaac finally gave in to the idea of being potty trained. This is very telling of his personality, once he sets his mind to something it is easily accomplished. From that day on we have only had a couple of accidents. Josiah is now 10 months old. He has the most contagious and beautiful smile and laugh you have ever heard. He is very clingy to mom and dad but lately has been more adventurous with other people. Crawling and cruising along furniture have brought him great freedom and he loves it!
All in all we have had a great year full of hikes, camping, bike rides, family time, naps, and lots of play dates with friends! We feel extremely blessed that you are part of our lives.
This next year we are planning a grand adventure to Guatemala as a family. We hope to leave in February (2 months from now, WOW!) and stay there for 4-6 months. We are still working out some of the details but there are 2 ministries we would like to help out and several friends we would like to visit. It should be exciting and we will let you know more soon as the details unfold.
Thanks for you love, support and prayers.
Love,
Craig, Jennifer, Isaac (3), Josiah (10 months) Pratt

Sleepy boys!

Fall leaves

I love the colors of fall in WA. It is absolutely beautiful. We had some fun playing in the leaves on a cool fall evening. Josiah wasn't so sure what he thought about them which is why his face is so serious.

Kiddos in costumes!

We had fun gutting our pumpkin for seeds. Isaac doesn't like slimy things which is why he is using the tongs to remove the pumpkin guts. And for their costumes, Josiah was an owl and Isaac a giraffe!

Life as a Mom

Well, were do we start. Sometimes I look at my life and wonder how I got here, not in a bad way, but I just wonder how I got old enough to be married and then have 2 kids of my own?!?! What a blessing it has been, but not without challenges and change along the way. Some of the change happened instantly upon having kids and some has come gradually. Here are some of the things I have learned:
*I never imagined I would be sooo excited to wash my hair AND shave my legs in the same shower. And if I was exceptionally lucky there would be no screaming kids right outside the tub.
*Who knew going to the park would be a highlight for me. Isaac loves it and makes friends easily, and I know that i will be taking home a tired kiddo which means a good nap (anything for a good nap).
*Never did I imagine that Craig and I as 2 introverts would have a full on extrovert (maybe 2) for children. I do love it though because they keep us highly entertained.
*I never thought I could go this long with so little sleep. I long for the day that I will get more than 5 hrs uninterrupted sleep (We are still working on Josiah's sleep issues).
*I never new how selfish and impatient I was until I had a toddler. I am getting a bit better here but still have a ways to go.
*I never imagined I could have so much fun watching a child learn and discover new things daily. Their pure joy and delight in the simplest of things is so awesome to watch.
*I never knew I would rejoice out loud and call all my friends and family when my child was potty trained (just happened for Isaac!!!)
*I never knew how much love I could experience through my wonderfull husband and amazing children.
Through all the difficult times and changes that have come in my life the last 5 years I have had to learn and grow, but I am thankful for the experience and wouldn't change any of it if I could (ok maybe I would like more sleep, but that is it!!!) I love my husband more than words express. My kids bring me great joy every day. And I feel blessed to have a God that loves me and my family more than I could ever imagine. I have my ups and downs each day, but I love this grand adventure of life that I get to be a part of.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today (our annual tradition). It was a gorgeous WA day with blue sky and warm fall sun. We went to a farm we hadn't been to before and it was great! They had hay rides (pulled by a tractor, the highlight for Isaac!), a cow train, a playground, corn canon, John Deere trikes for the kids, ice cream, a blacksmith at work, pony rides, and hundreds and hundreds of beautiful u-pick pumpkins to choose from. Needless to say we had a good time and spent several hours playing with our friends who joined us there, the Eckerts.

Craig shooting the corn cannon. If you hit a wheelbarrow out inthe field you would win a free pumpkin. We didn't win but craig had fun anyways.

Josiah in the wheelbarrow.

The cow train.

Isaac was determined to find the perfect pumpkin! He thought he could pick this up!!!

Isn't he cute!!!

More fun activities!

On our hike to the ice caves. Isaac did great. It is a 2 mile hike round trip and he walked the whole thing himself. It must have been his new hiking boots the he was sooooo excited to be wearing!

Isaac on top of the ice caves.

Family picture at the ice caves.

Hiking!

In route to the ice caves

Josiah loving the swing at the park.

Isaac at the local skate park on his big boy scooter.

Highlights of the last month

Here are the highlights of the last month in the Pratt family. Craig converted Isaac's twin sized bed into a full so when we have company they have a bed to stay in. We had Craig's parents with us for 2 1/2 weeks. We went to the Evergreen state fair (Isaac LOVED the rides), we have been harvesting all kinds of food from our garden (carrots, green beans, summer squash, zuchini, tomatoes, snap peas, lettuce, basil) and pears, apples, plums and blackberries from the trees on our property. We have made fruit leather, dehydrated fruit, blackberry pear jelly, and pear butter (like apple butter). This has kept us busy but has also been a lot of fun. Here are some pictures to prove it!

My big boys!

When did our boys get so big. Today Josiah turned 6 months old. He has grown up so fast, especially this last month. He now can sit up by himself and is totally entertained by his big brother. It is wonderful to see, but amazing how fast it all happens. And today we took Isaac to REI to climb the rock. Craig has been waiting for this day. He had already spent the last 6 months looking for a climbing harness for Isaac. Isaac had fun. He climbed about 10 feet up and then decided he was done. We spent time waiting and watching others climb thinking he would do it again but afer 15 minutes he declared he was done and ready to take the harness off. Oh well, he had fun and says he will do it again. So it was successful and entertaining for all.

Visiting Papa and Nana Pratt

We drove to Hungry Horse MOntana to visit Papa and Nana Pratt at the cabin. So here are some fun pictures of them playing with the kids and Craig and Papa preping the cabin for siding.

Cousins

We just got back from a trip to Montana and Spokane to visit family. Here are some of our favorite pictures of the cousins together. They are mostly if Issac and Elias but in the bathtub we have Kendrick and Josiah as well.

At the Beach

A sunny weekend in WA calls for time at the beach. So that is what we did on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Isaac would stay there for hours digging in the sand if we let him.

Crazy Hair!

Fun at Country Village

A fun time riding the choo choo with best buddies Sasha and John John.