According to Will and Catie

Playing Catch-up

2010-10-05T14:56:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to post these videos for weeks. They're of Will and Catie running their respective Beaver Trot races during the annual Beaverdale Fall Festival. I love my children very much but they really don't have grace and speed on their sides.

Don't mind the awful voice of the crazy woman shouting for them. We met her on the street and she insisted on cheering for them while I taped silently. (or something like that) She swears she doesn't sound like that in real life.

Will's sort of in the middle, wearing a dark green, unzipped sweatshirt and dark pants.

Catie's the one in the bright green sweatshirt.

Posts to look forward to:
1) My trip to Chicago to cheer on two of my best high school girlfriends who are running the Chicago Marathon together. Eight of the remaining nine in the group will be there to support them...and definitely NOT run with them.
2) Will's 6th birthday!

What Did She Say?

2010-10-05T14:36:00.000-05:00

Dafruckie By Chicken = Kentucky Fried Chicken

Catie learned a song at school that includes McDonalds, Pizza Hut and "Dafruckie By Chicken". So funny what they come up with when they've never heard the word!

(And really? A song about fast food joints? Weird.)

Hot Mess

2010-09-16T18:02:00.000-05:00

Catie Cat Goes to School

2010-09-07T16:26:00.000-05:00

This is not the portrait of a shy child.

She's never been one to hide behind my legs.

Nor has she ever had a tough time making herself right at home.

She's more of the "don't let the door hit you on the way out" variety.

Athlete?

2010-08-30T13:47:00.002-05:00

I am not athletic. As a child I had a short stint in basketball, at which I was allegedly so bad that I felt the need to lie to my parents about my prowess, and I wouldn't have been caught in the lie because- lucky me!- parents weren't allowed to watch...except or the very last game. Where I did NOT live up to my hype. I moved on to t-ball and softball, and while I don't remember a lot about my t-ball days (we wore yellow shirts and named ourselves the Lemondrops, and a cute boy named Levi would come watch sometimes), I do remember some about softball- namely the fact that at the very beginning of the season they tried us at all of the infield positions and then I was settled way out in the outfield. You know why that is, right? Because 7-year-old girls don't hit the ball that far out. In 7th grade I moved to a new school and tried out for the volleyball team. And, oh my goodness, I made the team! Turns out I made the team because I was tall...and that's it. I didn't make it again in 8th grade. I also did a little bit of swimming and had a couple years of dance that didn't turn out too badly because, you see, it's not that I'm not coordinated- I just never really understood the game. My mom wasn't an athlete; my dad wasn't an athlete. We didn't watch football on Sundays or have family games of soccer in the back yard.

I think I could have been a good competitor; while my family is not an athletic people, we do like to win. A lot. We like to win (destroy people) at strategy games (dominoes, spades) and we like to win at grammar and language and spelling. (Yeah, that's a competition. You didn't know that? Ohmygosh, it's horrible to be called out for a spelling mistake! Recently my mom corrected me for saying "lay" where "lie" was needed- mortifying.) We've been accused of always talking about spelling. Which is totally not true- we like to talk about food, too. But I digress...

Dave IS an athlete. He played football and soccer and tennis and baseball. He gets it. And he's good at it. "It" being anything he plays. He's good at sand volleyball and dodgeball even though he's in his mid-30s and doesn't exercise.

So if we were to make a Punnent Square* for athletic ability, with me having the recessive genes (aa) and Dave having the dominant genes (Aa, AA), our kids would have at least a 75% chance of being athletic- possibly 100% if Dave has two dominant genes. Pretty good odds!

Turns out "pretty good" isn't "sure bet". We're pretty sure Will got two recessives. Not that we can say for sure- he's only just started out in his athletic endeavors. He started gymnastics several weeks ago (we really need to work on his core strength!) and just this past Saturday he started playing soccer. We were pleasantly surprised that he did not mope around complaining of being tired. He ran the whole practice. He just ran behind the ball. Way behind the ball. And if he got the ball, he might give it a little kick and that was it.

I do have a little hope. The glimmer of tenacity was there- I totally would have been sitting on the sidelines whining for water. And to be fair, Dave really hasn't worked with him on the game. (It is Dave's job...I can count on one finger the things I know about soccer- kick the ball in the goal.) So there's still hope.

* I started Biology 211 last week. I am SO going to rock the genetics chapters.

And He's Off!

2010-08-26T19:51:00.000-05:00

It doesn't seem like long ago that this guy came into my life.

Such a sweet little guy.

A BIG bundle of adorable.

Oh, wait. That's just a creep with a skeezy moustache.

A big boy with an even bigger vocabulary, who never ceases to amaze me.

(He's about 15 months old in this video)

My baby started kindergarten today.

He was confident, excited, and ready to go. Far more ready to go than I was to let him go. I have to come to terms with the fact that there's now another lady in his life- at least for 35 hours a week.

I know he's going to rock kindergarten. He told me they worked on their shapes today- coloring them. The kid's known his shapes for years. Heck, he quietly debated whether an oyster cracker was an octogon or a hexagon right around age 4...and came to the right conclusion. (I know he's not a super-genius or anything, but a mom's gotta brag once in a while, doesn't she?)

My baby started kindergarten today. He's growing up.

Vacationing

2010-08-24T13:45:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we took a family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells with my mom and dad, as well as my younger sister Christina and my niece and nephew (daughter and son to my older sister Kim) Autumn and Jack. We rented a 3-bedroom condo with a full kitchen and 2 bathrooms at Glacier Canyon (part of the Wilderness Waterpark Resort)- plenty of space for the 9 of us for a couple days!

You may think we're crazy for vacationing with all that family, but there are a couple reasons we do it. 1) My family rocks and is tons of fun and appreciates QAT- Quality Ass Time- and wine and cheese, and 2) All that family around means that we can relax a little on vacation because the family likes to play with our kids. I don't recommend this type of space-sharing if you don't have an awesome family like I do.

I know the Dells has a reputation for being cheesy, but I'll tell you what! It was an ideal place for a vacation with two young kids and two older kids and a bunch of adults who like to act like kids. As a matter of fact, we celebrated my mom's mumblemumbleth birthday at the same place, back when it was quite a bit smaller, because she loves waterparks. We came to the conclusion that anyone who doesn't like waterparks is just plain crazy, and we intend to enjoy them to the fullest until we can't take our wheelchairs up the steps to the slides.

Without further ado, here are some pictures I didn't share on Facebook. Maybe some I did share, too.

At the scenic overlook near The House on the Rock, which totally wasn't scenic

Catie has this awesome little swim she does all by herself, with the help of the swim vest

Action shot!

He is in the air! I'm so glad I caught this expression!

Sunning, swimming, and sliding are hard work

Wow Dave...way to conquer those scary slides!

A group of misfits

Action golf shot

A closer look at what Catie was doing. What WAS she doing?

The whole fam

All tuckered out and on the way home

This was after he barfed 3 times...great car ride home, I tell you.

I hope we can convince the family to go again soon. (hint, hint)

Unclear on the Concept

2010-08-06T08:27:00.002-05:00

My friend Rachel, Auntie Rachel to the kids, spent the night with us on the way from Denver to Chicago and got to spend a little time with the kids the evening she arrived. Knowing how the kids love/hate Lady Gaga, she told them this joke-

Q: How do you wake up Lady Gaga?
A: Poker Face.

Dave wasn't home at the time, so Will wanted to be sure to tell him the joke. He got the opportunity the next day when Dave took the kids to the zoo. I went like this-

W: How do you wake up Lady Gaga?
D: How?
W: Poke her in the face!

then

W: How do you wake up Miley Cyrus?
D: How?
W: Jump on her back!

Then Catie got into it-

C: How do you wake up Justin Beaver? (she's so cute)
D: How?
C: I don't know!

Time for Charm School

2010-07-30T13:50:00.001-05:00

"Women probably shouldn't get that big."

-WDB, to my 34-week-pregnant friend who was not moving her belly out of the way of "Toy Story" quickly enough

Summer Olympics 2024, Here We Come!

2010-07-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

There is a young man in our house who has been obsessed, I mean obsessed, with tumbling, cartwheels, flips, headstands, handstands, and general gymnasticry. (You can look it up, but I'm pretty sure it's such a new word you won't find it on dictionary.com.) Our couch gets disassembled daily in order to make mats for softening the blows of intense practice. He hasn't shown much interest in many sports other than gymnastics, so we decided to go ahead and sign him up for classes at a local gymnastics academy for some beginning classes. And since whatever Will does Catie does, we signed her up too.

Those of you who know Will well know that he's not a patient boy. My procrastination paid off this time- I called last week and left a message at the gym, and they called back Monday to get the kids on the roster for Tuesday classes. I only had to listen to the incessant "How many more minutes until gymnastics?" question for fewer than 24 hours.

So they had their first classes today- Will's a Peridot and Catie's an Opal. Will really seemed pretty good, and really enjoyed himself even though he was the only boy in the entire gym and there were LOTS of classes going on. But he listened, followed directions, flipped around the bars, bounced on the trampoline well, and showed his teacher his cartwheels. Here he is in all his giddiness:

Catie has a little more work to do because her core doesn't seem to be quite strong enough (perhaps it's that buddha belly she's toting around?), but all in all she did very well. She was probably more excited about the leotard than the actual class-- our friends Olivia and Ava gave her two! Her first-day portrait:

And for good measure, and since they're so cute, here's the two of them together:

A Recipe (of Sorts)

2010-07-26T18:47:00.000-05:00

1) Go to Costco and buy industrial-sized vats of Nutella. (They come in 2-packs, which you may think is overkill at first, but will soon realize they know what they're talking about.)

2) Get out yer container of peanut butter, smooth or crunchy. You decide. (Which, by the way, can be purchased in giganto-sized containers that are 46 ounces. Perfect for children who ask for peanut butter at breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. And in between. And the mother who may or may not enjoy a peanut butter spoon- a la Joey Tribiani's peanut butter fingers- on occasion...or more.)

** You may want to designate your own peanut butter and Nutella jars. Stay with me...you'll understand.

3) Standing at the kitchen counter, open both the peanut butter and the Nutella.

4) Take a large spoon out of your drawer. No little pansy spoons.

5) Dip your spoon into the peanut butter like you're getting your own peanut butter spoon. Don't be shy.

6) Dip the same peanut butter spoon into the Nutella, covering the peanut butter.

7) Start licking deliberately, getting Nutella and peanut butter in every lick. Take a second as you swirl it around your tongue. Yeah...that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. It's like the best peanut butter cup you've ever had.

8) If you've designated your own peanut butter and Nutella jars, go ahead and dip again. Double-dipping is no problem when it's your own spit! If you haven't, you'll probably end up making more spoons dirty. It's really about conservation here; it just makes sense to have your own jars.

No need to thank me.

* This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian. :)

The Power of Advertising

2010-07-19T15:58:00.001-05:00

This morning I was getting ready for Morning Latte*, setting out coffee cups and accoutrements for the coffee. I set out a little dish with some Splenda packets (for my friends who like that poison**) along with sugar, milk, and vanilla coffee syrup. Will came over to the counter, picked up one of the Splenda packets, and said, "I see you're having some zero-calorie sweetener!"

*I've mentioned this in previous posts, but seeing that it's been a looooong time since I've posted, I'll explain: I invite a bunch of friends with kids over for breakfast pastries (code for cake in the morning), coffee, and conversation. We then send the kids off to play whilst we eat, drink, and be merry. It's hard to be me.

**Have I mentioned that I'm definitely going back to school to study nutrition? I have an appointment with an academic advisor in the Food Science and Human Nutrition department of Iowa State next week. I will start with some core science classes at the local community college until Catie starts kindergarten in 2012. Then I can start taking all the upper-level science and nutrition classes at ISU. I am SO stoked!

New Beginning?

2010-07-18T20:50:00.001-05:00

My mom started a blog (which you may or may not want to check out- http://www.iruninjeans.blogspot.com/ - she's a great writer and very funny when not writing about death) which prompted me to check out my old stomping grounds. I started reading and so enjoyed reminiscing about what the kids were up to A YEAR AGO. Seriously? It's been almost a year since I posted here? Anyway, it reminded me of what a great keeper of memories a blog is, even if people (other than our parents and sisters) don't read it.

So what I’m saying is I think I'm going to start again, but I think it might not totally be about the kids. I toyed with starting a whole new blog, but in all reality it’ll probably end up being MOSTLY about the kids, and why mess with a good thing anyway? I don't know...I'm not trying to get published. It's not like I have to state my thesis.

I do think I need to update my header. That old thing is from, what, over 2 years ago? The kids look a little different. Catie has (more) hair. Will (mostly) wears pants (just not always underwear). But of couse they're still super-cute. You can just imagine until you see my new header. Or check Facebook...where all of my blogging time has been directed and current pictures of the kids have been posted. (Ooh! Can I redirect my Facebook addiction to blogging? That would be nice.)

Big Brother's Sage Advice

2009-09-11T12:48:00.001-05:00

"Catie, never get too close to a circus clown. You might get hurt."

-WDB

Eel

2009-08-14T07:52:00.003-05:00

I am happy to report that after, oh, a gazillion sessions of swimming lessons, Will has graduated from the Pike class to the Eel class. He took swimming pretty much all last school year, one day a week for probably 25 weeks. And to be honest, he really didn't progress at all. So imagine my surprise when, during two summer sessions (twice a week for 3 weeks each), we see Will take to swimming like a little fish! He lost lots of his inhibitions and started going underwater, jumping into the arms of the instructor without convincing her to come closer to the edge, and swimming (doggy paddling) without assistance! I don't know if it was the instructors, his age, or what, but it clicked this time. GO WILL!

Play a Game with Me

2009-08-10T13:32:00.003-05:00

Heaven or August in Iowa?

Heaven or August in Iowa?

Heaven or August in Iowa?

The Imperial March

2009-08-09T08:47:00.004-05:00

She was not put up to this. I was taking pictures (which you will see soon) and she busted out with the Imperial March. One day she came to me with a blanket cape on and insisted I put Will's Vader mask on her saying, "I want to be Darth Vader." Is she trying to tell us something? Should we be concerned?

New Game

2009-08-07T15:37:00.002-05:00

Catie's favorite new phrase is "Which one you like?" She'll give me a choice of two or three things and insist I choose one. ("Which one you like? WHICH ONE YOU LIKE??")Then, when I choose one I like, she'll say, "I don't have a green one! Just a pink one." Stinker.

Pictures, Videos, and Stories Galore!

2009-08-04T10:18:00.007-05:00

A much-delayed update:

Catie's been a little obsessed with yoga. She'll wake up in the morning and roll her blanket up, take it to Will's room, unroll it, and strike some poses, calling it her yoga mat.
rolled yoga mat

downward dog on mat

tree pose on mat

We've also gotten to the point where Catie's hair can be put into pigtails! I've been waiting 2.5 years for this, so you can shut your trap if you're going to mention how tiny they are. I don't care.

Will's been very "boy" lately- doing lots of jumping and wrestling.

And check it out! We finally got Will a bike with training wheels! He's absolutely in LOVE. We even took a ride (well, Will rode, we walked and pushed Catie in a stroller) to Snookies Malt Shop- an entire mile away! He rode there and back just wonderfully!

The National Balloon Classic is in Indianola right now. We went with friends last night. I love this event! I'd say 50 balloons took off from the field in front of us, and more took off from other places and landed in the field in front of us.

Will and his frenemy, Elliott. They love eachother one second and not the next, but I think it all evens out.

Both kids are big fans of The Beach Boys.

(Did you get that they're surfing? Clever.)

Random Will Goodness
Will's coming up on what we think will be his final eye patch appointment. His right eye has strengthened significantly! He's also been taking swimming lessons twice a week this summer and has improved greatly. He still often tries to cajole his teacher into moving closer to the wall when he jumps to her, but he's getting braver and braver by the day. He and Dave have been reading books from the "Magic Treehouse" series- they're chapter books!

Random Catie Goodness
Catie's getting funnier and quirkier by the day. The other night I asked her where her shoes were and she answered, "I 'sappeared them." (I believe that's, "I disappeared them.") Her language has exploded (remember when I was worried about her average language? Yeah, notsomuch anymore.) and she's talking and singing about everything. She insists on doing whatever Will is doing- riding bikes, jumping off the bed, jumping off the stairs. Oh! And she's potty trained! So for now we're down to Pull-ups during naps and nighttime, but she stays dry for pretty much every nap and about 4 of 7 nights. I won't be brave enough to go farther than that until she's in a big girl bed, and I'm in no hurry to move that direction.

So there you have it. :)

Darth Vader

2009-06-14T08:17:00.001-05:00

And his sidekick, Ladybug Princess Leia Vader

Catie's Story

2009-06-13T15:43:00.002-05:00

Catie and I were reading a book last night at bedtime. It was one of those "Happy Baby" books- the colors one. We were looking at the page of multi-colored and black and white animals when Catie said, "I tell you a story!" It went like this:

"Once upon a time there was birdie in my house. It die. And there was zebra. It say 'neigh! neigh!'. The end."

Trying Too Hard?

2009-06-11T08:26:00.000-05:00

Too soon?

Preschool Spelling

2009-05-28T16:49:00.001-05:00

"WOTL"

- how ducks walk, as spelled by WDB

Heartbreaker

2009-05-21T13:06:00.004-05:00

See Lucy there on the right edge of the picture? The one in the black? She loves Will. Loves him. Wanted to wear the same shirt two days in a row because Will told her it was beautiful. Told her dad she is going to marry him. Asked her mom to stop on a picture she had taken at the Christmas party so she could look at "handsome Will". Is nice to Will's baby sister.

At lunch today, Will told me, "Lucy loves me. But I don't love her. I like her."

Poor girl. (Smart boy, though! Forget about girls until you're in college!)

This and That

2009-05-20T17:06:00.003-05:00

Will

Will was playing outside by himself the other day when I heard him talking to our neighbor, Art. I went out to see what was up and found Will hanging out on Art's deck, just shooting the breeze. (I think the conversation was about grandpas and the fact that Will has 3 living grandpas, and he later told me that Art's dad lives in St. Charles.) I told him to come back home and he said, "Oh! Ok! (to Art)I've gotta go, but I'll see you around, Art!"

Catie

Catie's been talking up a storm. Everywhere we go we get comments about how well and how much she talks. (So much for my concern that she wouldn't be as verbal as Will!) She's been playing with language, adding "y" to many words, like "shirty" and "skirty" and "teethy".

She also doesn't like to be without pants. The other day she was wearing a skirt and it rode up when we snapped her into her carseat. We were driving down the street when she looked down and exclaimed, "Hey! Where my pants?"

Didn't You Hear Me?

2009-05-14T14:40:00.002-05:00

Will went on a field trip to a park with his class today. Another mom relayed this story to me:

Will was playing in the sand and a little boy (not in Will's class) threw sand at Will. Will asked him to please stop because he doesn't like it. The boy did it again and Will said, "Didn't you hear me? I told you I don't like that!"

Lots and Lots of Pictures

2009-05-12T13:10:00.004-05:00

Will in his alligator hat, made at school

Coloring eggs (Hello, Captain Obvious!)

A moment of sweetness. They really are quite sweet together. Mostly.

A few pictures with Daddy. (Again with the obviousness!)

Catie insisted I put this outfit on her. It's what she wore home from the hospital!

Star Wars

2009-05-11T08:25:00.005-05:00

Have I mentioned the Star Wars fanaticism that goes on in our house? Will is in LOVE. Everything is Star Wars this and Star Wars that. Even Catie has gotten into it, saying, "I Pincess Lee-ya!" and "That 2TT." ("That's R2D2.")

Dave told me a story that one day Will was asking which movie it was that Leia changes her clothes. Dave was trying to figure out the details and finally asked, "Will, do you want to see Leia in her swimsuit?":

W: NO! Catie does!
D: Will, are you embarassed that you want to see Leia in her swimsuit?
W: I'm embarassed for Catie.*

I'm in trouble.

Anyway, this fascination would seem to be long-lived so we're thinking we'll get Will this awesome Millenium Falcon bedding from Pottery Barn...if it ever goes on sale.

He'll love it. And I'm picturing a Pottery Barn Star Wars bedroom...too cool!

* This situation is reminiscent of the time Dancing With the Stars was on the TV and Will did not want to watch it...he was only facing the television because his imaginary friend Germ wanted to watch.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T10:18:00.006-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and my mom friends!

A couple pictures of my sweeties before we went out for our Mother's Day breakfast

And a video from the Mother's Day Tea at Will's preschool. The question posed was, "What does your mom do for you?"

If you couldn't hear, Will's answer was, "She'll give me a Clone Trooper mask that changes your voice and a gun." The little girl before him answered, "She gives me snuggles." I can't tell you how my chest was bursting with pride! (insert eye roll here)(Also please note that a gun has never been part of the bargain. He's working toward the mask...there will be no gun.)

If You Haven't Given Up...

2009-05-01T09:27:00.004-05:00

The past several weeks, Will's been telling me about this white spot/circle that he sees floating and spinning in front of his face and around the house. I showed him this picture

of Isaac that I took at Catie's birthday party and he shouted, "Yes! There it is!" about the little orb you see by Isaac's leg. It's not in any of my other photos (well, I did see it one other time, but I must have deleted the photo) and I don't see it floating around. So what is it? A spirit? Dust?

Good Things

2009-04-14T10:11:00.002-05:00

"Guess what's better than just whipped cream. Cake AND whipped cream. With ice cream. And frosting."

-WDB

Easter Loot

2009-04-12T09:25:00.003-05:00

A Boatload of Pictures

2009-04-12T09:17:00.004-05:00

I've been uninspired lately, but I'm going to try to get back on the horse. Some pictures from this weekend at Living History Farms:

#2

2009-03-18T22:28:00.002-05:00

Dave and I went to Will's preschool conference last week. Thankfully, Will is doing very well with his cognitive development- he knows his shapes (as does Catie), colors (Catie too), his letters A-Z (spoken and written, yep, Catie too), the numbers 1-9 (rote counting and written, as does Catie)...

Seriously, the things they asked him to do were things he's been doing for years. And by years, I mean at least half of his life. At least he doesn't seem bored with school!

Will was described as "chatty" during circle time and made best friends with the other chatty boy in class. Apparently they need to be separated at times. You're shocked, I know.

#1

2009-03-18T09:04:00.003-05:00

After being (not naggingly) prodded by Mom to get my patootie in shape and post on the blog again, I have decided to do a series of posts today as I think of all the things I've been meaning to post and then forget.

Post #1-

I went out to dinner last night and Dave was home with the kids. He put Catie to bed and let Will stay up for a bit. Dancing with the Stars was on the TV (Dave claims it was because I was DVRing it, but I know he likes to watch it too) and Will was quietly watching it for about 20 minutes. I asked him about it this morning and he told me that he didn't want to watch it at ALL, but his friend Germ (you know, the imaginary friend) wanted to watch so Will had to turn toward the TV so Germ could see it.

I'd like to watch it today, so I'll see if Germ wants to watch with me.

Facebook...

2009-03-06T12:10:00.002-06:00

...could be the demise of my blog, if I don't get more proactive!

But speaking of Facebook- you know how I hate that the status updates are in the 3rd person? Well, Catie would fit right in. Lately she's been speaking of herself in mixed tenses, but more in the 3rd person than not. Examples:

"I want to do it by Catie's self!"

and

"Catie's pooping!"

Nightmares

2009-02-24T10:12:00.001-06:00

Will woke up sobbing last night because Han Solo "was frozen and rolling".

Octagon Crackers

2009-02-23T10:13:00.003-06:00

"Mom, please can I have some octagon crackers? (to himself) Are they octogons or hexagons? Yeah, hexagons..."

-WDB, speaking of oyster crackers

Weekend Happenings

2009-02-17T09:13:00.004-06:00

The family went sledding this weekend and Will was SO brave! We didn't get to stay as long as he would have liked because Catie wasn't such a fan, but Will did get a couple of opportunities to go down by himself. Listen for Catie cheering him on in the background:

In Catie news- she's decided to call me "Mom" instead of "Mommy". When she does this I feel the urge to call her Cate. I did it a couple of times this weekend, and at one point she said, "I not Cate!"

Donut Heart

2009-02-15T08:25:00.007-06:00

The kids are big fans of They Might Be Giants. BIG fans. They have a couple kids' CDs by the band, and Aunt Tina gave them a greatest hits compilation for Christmas. Will discovered this song- which at first he thought was called "Donut Heart". It's actually "Don't Let's Start".

I can't really think of a much better Saturday afternoon than dancing and singing to TMBG with the kids.

(In the interest of full disclosure- Dave and I really like TMBG too. I find myself singing and humming their kids' songs all day long! So catchy and clever they are. And it's not that annoying kids' music. It's good music with fun, smart kids' lyrics. I can't wait until their next album, "Here Comes Science", is released. Can you tell I'm a fan?)

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

2009-02-12T13:47:00.002-06:00

Today is Catie's 2nd birthday!

We've had a good day so far- Catie enjoyed her birthday yogurt, we took Will to school, then we headed to see Dr. Uthe for her 2-year well child appointment. She did have a growth spurt, landing her in the 50th percentile for height (33.5 inches) and the 50th to 75th percentile for weight (27 pounds). While Dr. Uthe was not too shocked by her vocabulary and speech given who Catie's brother is, she was impressed considering Catie's just 2. Catie's been responding "Happy Birthday!" whenever anyone wishes her the same.

Unfortunately, we've had to postpone Catie's family birthday party that was planned for this weekend because a snow storm is supposed to be coming through and it doesn't make sense for my parents and sister to drive because it could be a doozy. Of course now that we've postponed, it won't be anything to write home about! It works out that everyone is free for next weekend, so we'll just do it then.

Some things our 2-year-old is doing and saying:
- recognizes almost all of her upper-case letters
- sings the ABC song pretty well
- loves to dance and sing along with They Might Be Giants
- freely spreads the love with words and kisses
- tells us regularly that she's cute
- LOVES to read
- is getting better at recognizing colors
- HATES having her picture taken

A Little Light Reading

2009-02-04T19:32:00.002-06:00

This is Will's reading choice at the moment. He is particularly fond of the picture of the cancer of the nasopharynx.

Perhaps we have an oncologist on our hands?

Dancing Queen

2009-02-04T09:20:00.002-06:00

A certain wee someone insisted I put a tutu on her this morning and then announced,

"I need to dance!"

Tidbits

2009-01-29T16:46:00.003-06:00

Randomly-

1) Will has discovered the original Star Wars movies. He is in LOVE.

2) Catie's 2nd birthday is coming up, so I decided to buy her a potty...you know, to get things going. She went on it twice yesterday! Nothing today, which is to be expected. I'm totally not pushing it, as I actually believe that kids will potty train when they're ready. I can train her at two, but unless she's ready I'll have to ask/tell her to go potty, and that just means that I'm the one trained!

3) We're having a little(ish) family birthday party (like we always have- I love it!) for the C-Cat on February 14. We were deciding between a ladybug cake and a butterfly cake- the butterfly won. It'll look something like this

but with pink and purple and yellow. Catie got some adorable butterfly wings for Christmas that she'll don for the party.

Inauguration Day- Part 2

2009-01-20T10:52:00.002-06:00

Excuse the mess, but you all know what it's like having kids. I just love that they're watching as though they're interested. Maybe they're wiser than I give them credit for. Maybe they realize the significance of today. Cool.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T10:02:00.001-06:00

Will's playing with a black Matchbox Camaro. Inside the Camaro is President Barack Obama. :)

Picturepalooza

2009-01-17T19:50:00.004-06:00

Making up for lost time. In no particular order...

And what you've really been waiting for...

2009-01-15T16:25:00.003-06:00

Things to know:

1) Will has ALL of Dave's old Legos.

2) The Legos include about a jillion little Lego people with a jillion little Lego people heads. They're pretty much everywhere.

3) Lego heads almost all look the same.

4) Will never looks for anything. IF there happens to be something he really loves that he can't find, he whines and tells me he can't possibly find it himself. Those items he loves include his blanket, and, uh, his blanket.

So Catie asked me to put her slippers on her. Shortly after putting them on, she came back to me asking me to take one off. I did, and I put my hand in it to see if there was something in there. I found one little Lego head.

Will came over and said, "I've been looking everywhere for that!"

I Like to Party

2009-01-13T16:49:00.002-06:00

Catie's walking around shaking two Lego trees, one in each hand, singing:

"Party! Party! I like to party! Party!"

Holy Moly

2008-12-31T10:27:00.003-06:00

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post! We've been very busy- the kids and I were sent off to Marshalltown for a couple days while our kitchen floor was being torn up and refinished, then we came home on Christmas Eve afternoon, went out for a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner at Perkins (I'd like to pretend here that I don't like going there, but I love their breakfast potatoes and pancakes so I can't even do a winky smiley), came home and put the kids to bed, wrapped every present for the kids and my family, put together Catie's new kitchen from Santa, and finally fell into bed at about midnight. We were awakened by Will next to our bed telling us that Santa had come and that he brought Catie a kitchen. When Dave suggested that maybe the kitchen was for both of them, Will answered, "I didn't ask for a kitchen!"

We opened the few presents the kids had and got packed up to leave for Chicago. We had a wonderful time with my family, I got some fun time in with friends, and then we headed home on Sunday.

We've spent the week downsizing and reorganizing and getting the kitchen back in order and all our things back in the basement where they belong. Because the kitchen floor is now its original fir, and fir has a very orange hue to it, we've decided that we're going to have to change the wall color from my beloved orange to a lighter yellow/gold color. My very dear mother-in-law loves to paint and will be doing that for us!

Catie's practicing for a future as a stay-at-home mom with her new baby doll on her hip as she cooks in her new kitchen. Will is spending hours with his Legos, creating space stations and rockets and airplanes.

I need to send Dave out into the Tundra (our 3-season room) to retrieve my USB cable so I can upload some pictures from Christmas. My next post promises to be more visually interesting!

Holiday Spirit

2008-12-19T10:53:00.001-06:00

Will's been walking around this morning singing...

"DE-corate with balls of fa-la! Fa la la la la la la la la..."

Legos

2008-12-14T15:10:00.000-06:00

Who, do you suppose, is a Lego FREAK?

(clue- While Will really enjoys the Legos, he's not the freak.)

Catie-isms

2008-12-14T13:42:00.004-06:00

Some of the sweet things Catie says that I hope never go away:

O mohnin!- Good morning!
faffles- waffles
shashage- sausage
Tapee- Thomas (the tank engine)
sapo- spider
beekee- book
ohnjenge- orange (which I think Will said too?)

OK, so maybe it would be strange, at age 15, to tell me she wants "faffles a shashage a yoget" for breakfast. But it is SO CUTE right now.

Catie Bug

2008-12-10T12:19:00.002-06:00

We have an awesome friend Molly who sent this adorable ladybug costume for Catie. Catie couldn't wait to put it on, and we're having a bit of a struggle getting her to take it off for her nap. She's also pretty protective of it- Will's been chasing her around the house trying to touch her wings and she shouts, "NO Widdy! NO WIDDY!"

How Giants Count

2008-12-08T08:52:00.000-06:00

"Fee...Fi...Four...Lunk..."

-WDB

She's My Girl

2008-12-03T14:43:00.000-06:00

"Pees more chockeet." (Please more chocolate)

-CWB

Starting December Right

2008-12-02T13:04:00.003-06:00

I haven't forgotten about you, dear followers. We had a long weekend in Chicagoland and a very long trip home on Sunday. I'm listening carefully to the chillins for something to brighten your day, but so far all I've heard is "no", "I don't want to" and "Go away, Catie!". Joyful!

Getting Crafty

2008-11-25T13:51:00.001-06:00

The kids and I made these cinnamon ornaments the other day and they smell incredible! They're not quite dry yet, so I don't know how they'll really work on the tree, but I thought I'd share.

Cinnamon Ornaments
non edible

3/4 c. ground cinnamon
1 T. ground allspice
2 T. ground cloves
1 T. ground nutmeg
1 c. applesauce

Combine spices, blending well. Stir in applesauce; blend well. Dough will be stiff. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness on waxed paper. Cut out with Christmas cookie cutter shapes. Peel away dough and re-roll as necessary. Make holes for hanging with wire hangers. Let dry uncovered for 4-5 days.

Ineffective Time-Out

2008-11-24T07:55:00.001-06:00

No Trees, But Giant Piles of Leaves

2008-11-23T16:42:00.002-06:00

Looks fun, doesn't it?

"Your Dad"

2008-11-20T13:06:00.002-06:00

This morning Will said to me, "Your dad has a funny laugh." And I said, "YOUR dad, or my dad?" He said, "YOUR dad." Uhhhh...ok. So I said, "You like your grandpa, don't you?" And he answered, "I LOVE my grandpa!"

Florida

2008-11-18T08:55:00.004-06:00

Since I have to post daily for the rest of the month, I'll share a couple Florida pictures at a time. I'm crafty like that.

We had a great time! If you were to ask Will, his favorite part of the trip was swimming in the pools. But guess what? I don't have any pictures of that from my camera (my mom does and she did send them to me, but I haven't downloaded them onto my computer yet), so you'll get some Disney Magic Kingdom pictures today. We did have a good time, but the kids didn't have as much fun as I would have hoped. Will's favorite part of the day was the Monorail. We could have paid $12 to park, then rode the Monorail all day and he would have been happy. Anywho...

The Bower family in front of Cinderella's castle

The fam on the It's a Small World ride (I realize Catie's not looking. She was there though)

Catie and Aunt Tina waiting in line for the jungle cruise ride

Will and Grandpa Curt (or, as Catie named him, Pumpkin)

Overheard

2008-11-17T10:47:00.002-06:00

(crash)
C: Waaahhhhh!
W: I'm so sorry, Catie. Come over here so I can kiss you. Is that better?

Vacationing

2008-11-12T12:40:00.001-06:00

In case you're sitting there thinking I'm a total slacker for not posting every day this week after having told you about NaBloPoMo, I should tell you that the Bower family is vacationing in Orlando! I'll be back at it this weekend with pictures from our week!

Thoughts

2008-11-07T19:10:00.007-06:00

After getting over the embarassment that was the behavior of my children, I have come to realize that I really cherish these photos that Yana got of us/them last weekend. Clingy as Catie was...that's Catie! Weird Smile Willy...that's him right now! So thank you, Yana, for capturing us as we are. :)

Germ Revisited

2008-11-06T08:09:00.001-06:00

As requested, I asked what Germ looks like. He is "squishy and like a germ." There was some gesturing going along with this description- fingers up and kind of bent and haggard and wiggly.

So there you have it.

Perhaps I can get Will to draw a picture of Germ? Yes, I'll try that.

Germ

2008-11-05T08:19:00.005-06:00

I've waited a little while to tell you about this because I wasn't sure if it was going to be another "Skunky" episode, but it appears that Will now does have an imaginary friend named Germ. Germ lives in Will's pocket and he has the flu today. Puking AND diarrhea. And a sick voice.

In unrelated news, Will was sick this weekend. Puking AND diarrhea.

s.t.u.b.b.o.r.n.

2008-11-04T18:43:00.002-06:00

Catie has a very stubborn, very independent streak. So just this week she's decided that she'd like to put her own shoes and, today, her own shirt on. She really doesn't have the dexterity to do it herself, but when I try to help...watch out! Things take quite a while now, but once we get her dressed she gets all excited, claps and shouts, "I did it!"

NaBloPoMo?

2008-11-03T13:49:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my friend Sarah for the heads-up-

Apparently it's National Blog Posting Month. The challenge is to post daily. So I'm going to try it...but I'll warn you, I think some of my posts may be pretty lame.

Today's post:

We had some photos done on Saturday and we didn't have the best of luck. Will wasn't being very natural (he was posing and "smiling" (wincing?) for the camera) and Catie was being very contrary and clingy, but Yana did capture a couple of good photos. We'll try again in a couple weeks.

Longest Post Ever

2008-10-31T09:21:00.009-05:00

Beggar's Night

I don't get it, but in Des Moines and the surrounding areas we trick-or-treat on Beggar's Night, the night before Halloween. We invited our friends Amy and Matt and their two older boys, Elliott and Henry, to come T-o-T with us around the neighborhood. A good time was had by most (Will wanted to give up completely when I told him he couldn't eat any candy until we got home...he wanted to eat it NOW and was ready to be done 3 houses in. He wasn't able to conclude that more T-o-Ting = more candy. We were able to keep him out a bit longer.) Beggar's Night is a bit more strict about having a joke or trick when asking for candy. We kind of forgot to teach Will a new joke this year, so he used his fallback:
Knock Knock!
(Who's there?)
Boo!
(Boo who?)
Don't cry, it's only a joke!

Although that morning he told me he was going to say:
Knock knock!
(Who's there?)
Banana!
(Banana who?)
Banana William!
(ahhhhhahahahaha!)

Will LOVES these 11-year-old twin girls who live right around the corner. He met them a couple months ago when we were at our block party and he hasn't stopped talking about them since. He and Dave go for a walk around the block almost every evening, and every evening Will asks if he can go visit "The Girls". Dave took both Will and Catie over there on Wednesday evening and they spent about a half hour at their house. They're obviously a very nice family. Anyway, the girls told Will that they had a special treat for him for Beggar's Night. They baked some (delicious!) pumpkin-decorated sugar cookies for both Will and Catie. How cute are they?

Catie was her darling self in her Catie Cat costume. Since she still lacks the vocabulary for telling jokes, we had her meow for her candy. It was way cute. People loved her. Oh, and she did have another trick...she just walked right into people's homes. Luckily it was only into a choice few and we know the people who live there.

So after T-o-Ting around the 'hood, I took Will to visit Grandpa Bud. GB called yesterday afternoon to tell me they were having a big Beggar's Night celebration at the retirement community, complete with T-o-Ting and games in the rec room. When we arrived, there were paper pumpkins taped to the floor to lead us to where we were to go. We started in the dining room where they had a bunch of ladies sitting around handing out candy. It then took us downstairs where they had a really cool setup! There were probably 7 games with prizes, one of them being bowling, which Will LOVED. Grandpa Bud was all dressed up (see above) and was doing a little fishing game.

Other Stuff

Last weekend Catie and I participated in the Race for the Cure here in Des Moines. We did it with my YUM (Young Urban Moms) group and had a lot of fun! We only did the 1-mile walk, but I think a couple of us are planning to run the 5K next year. (I now realize that perhaps it wasn't tasteful for me to be wearing a pink skull cap with a scarf around my head- I hope no one thought I was "dressing up" for the race! It was just really cold.)

We also went to a Halloween costume birthday party for Will's friend Gia last weekend. It's the only time I will dress up this year, and as you can see, I used my old standby cat costume. But I thought it was cute that Catie and I were both cats. Catie's friend Drew was there, but they have a bit of a love/hate relationship. Catie seems to tease him by calling his name, then when he gets near her she cries and whimpers. Drew doesn't know his own strength and occasionally knocks her over when trying to hug her. I captured a love moment on the stairs, though:

And finally, just a couple other cute photos from the week:

So there you have it. The longest post ever. I haven't even gotten to Catie's new favorite saying ("oh my!") or Will making ponies out of Play-Doh. Another day.

Apologies

2008-10-30T14:28:00.003-05:00

Sorry for no new posts this week- it's been really cold here, and because of that, the computer room is virtually unusable. And if I don't get in here right away to write down the cute things the kids say, I forget.

It's supposed to be in the mid-60s to low-70s for the next couple days, so I'll be back at it. And tonight is Beggar's Night, so I'll have Halloween costume pictures to post soon.

On top of cute pictures from tonight, my friend Yana is doing our family photo shoot on Saturday. Hopefully I'll be able to share some of those too. I know they'll be fabu. We're even going to attempt a wardrobe change for Catie so I can get our Christmas photos too.

Until I have real updates: Catie's cute. Will's cute. The end.

Feels Like a Photo Friday

2008-10-24T09:24:00.004-05:00

A few from this week:

Will decided to make himself and Catie look like cats. Washable markers are amazing!

Will's school field trip to Iowa Orchard-

The class

Camo Boy checking out the pumpkins

Volunteering to sing with Grandma Jo

And a quick cute story:
There is a little boy in Will's class who was crying yesterday when his mom dropped him off. Will went to him and said, "It's OK...sometimes I have trouble when my mom leaves too." Which is actually a lie (he's never so much as batted an eye when I leave), but so super sweet nonetheless.

I Forgot!

2008-10-22T15:37:00.001-05:00

Will is now wearing big boy underpants to bed at night. :)

Miscellaneous

2008-10-22T14:33:00.002-05:00

It's a good thing my mom was here to witness this stuff, because I always forget the cute things the kids do.

1) My mom has nicknames for her granddaughters- Autumn is Buttercup and Catie is Sunshine. Catie sees my mom about once every other month or so. On Will's birthday my mom sent an email birthday greeting with her picture embedded. I showed the kids and Catie immediately said, "Sunshine!" Then, this whole weekend she was calling my mom Sunshine...and even now that Mom is gone, Catie says "Sunshine!" when she sees the flip flops I let my mom wear in the basement.

2) We went to visit Grandma Hazel at the nursing home on Saturday morning. A woman was there singing songs to the residents, so of course Will had to go investigate. He made it known that it was his birthday, so the woman sang "Happy Birthday to You" to him, and after that he requested "Bingo". After "Bingo" was over, the woman started singing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and my mom told Will the song was about her (her name is Bonnie). Will encouraged her to go up to dance. :)

3) We've started to have a little problem with lying. One example: Will's been forbidden to chew gum because he keeps swallowing it. The other night I was out with friends and Will asked Dave for a piece of gum. Dave said, "Didn't Mom say you're not allowed to have gum?" and Will told him I said he could have it when I wasn't home. Dave offered to call me to clear up the misunderstanding and Will shouted "NOOOOOO!"

Night Eyes

2008-10-20T13:48:00.004-05:00

We went to an event called Night Eyes at the zoo yesterday with one of my moms' groups. The kids get to dress up in their Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat around the zoo. Here's a little teaser for our real Halloween pictures in a couple weeks!

Cool Cat in her costume

Will and his friend Kaiya

Someone who is really mad that she's not allowed to have "MORE CANNY!" (more candy)

Glasses?

2008-10-20T10:52:00.003-05:00

We just got home from Will's 4-year appointment with Dr. Uthe. He weighed in at 46 pounds (with clothes on) and is 43 inches. That's the weight of an average 6-year-old and the height of an average 5-year-old, and the 95th percentile for 4-year-olds.

He got 4 shots and the flu-mist vaccine. He did well with the first two shots, only saying, "That hurts!" Then, with the third and fourth shots, got mad and cried and said he never wants to see Dr. Uthe again. He's fine now and has changed his mind about the Dr. Uthe boycott.

He got his first eye exam and didn't do so well. We're not sure if he was playing around, but the test indicated that his eyesight is 20/40. We now have an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist on November 17 to check it out. Dave thinks Will will get beat up if he has glasses...I think it'll be unbelievably cute.

Party Day Photos

2008-10-19T11:34:00.001-05:00

From top: Will's 2nd choice cake- The Red Line L, blowing out candles, sharing cake with Isaac, opening his new car from Catie, a very scary pirate...arghhh!

It Begins

2008-10-17T07:56:00.002-05:00

Will was talking about preschool this morning and told us about his friends Levi, Zev, and Harrison. I asked him if he plays with any girls. His answer? "I'm allergic to girls."

He's never had a problem playing with girls before, so I have to believe that the "allergic to girls" thing comes from the boys at preschool. I'm not looking forward to all the things he's going to learn that I've tried to shelter him from!

Will's 4th Birthday

2008-10-16T14:44:00.000-05:00

Today is Will's birthday and he's having a great day! He could barely get to sleep last night because he was so excited, and he woke up with great cheer and a "Is it my birthday?" He got to choose his special breakfast (chocolate chip pancakes), got to open one present (a little track set to add to his Thomas train set, which he declared "beautiful!"), and had to take birthday snacks to school (Oreos and grapes). At school they had a birthday crown that he refused to wear because apparently only girls wear crowns.

He's taking a killer nap right now and when he gets up we have some stuff to do around the house to get ready for our weekend guests. But tonight, oh tonight- we're going to Chuck E. Cheese for his chosen birthday dinner. He can barely contain himself.

More photos to come of CEC and his weekend birthday celebration with family!

Friday Morning Pleasures

2008-10-10T08:18:00.002-05:00

Watching Curious George

2008-10-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

Today.

2008-10-07T18:15:00.003-05:00

1) Catie just ran through the kitchen shouting, "I fast! I fast!"

The significance of this is that she put together her first little sentence. Sure, she says, "I don't know!" with a shoulder raise when I ask her a question, but that's something she's heard us saying.

2) We had friends over this morning for Morning Latte. Eight women with a total of 13 children here in our little house. It was lots of fun. See evidence:

The big kids made themselves at home in Will's closet. It was a tight squeeze.

(What is Morning Latte, you ask? It's getting a bunch of stay-at-home-moms together in the morning for coffee and breakfast pastries- or in today's case, pumpkin cake and pumpkin dip- and good conversation, while letting our kids run around and entertain themselves. I guess it's the morning version of the 3-Martini Playdate.)

3) I just made pesto for the first time ever. I used basil from my garden. It is pretty good, but a tad salty. I think I'll be able to tweak it so it's awesome. :)

Empathy

2008-10-06T09:50:00.003-05:00

My dear, sweet, kind-hearted Will has been all worked up this morning. Apparently there was an boy being unkind to a gorilla on "Between the Lions" and it really touched a nerve. He turned the TV off, got very weepy, and had to tell me what happened. Then a bit later he was thinking about it again and started to get teary. Then, as we were getting in the car to take Dave to the office he busted out a full cry when recounting the story again.

Of course I had to make this a teaching opportunity and we discussed the importance of being kind and not hurting other people's hearts. He seems to get it...let's see if it sticks next time we're at the mall play area with Elliott. :)

Robots

2008-10-03T08:41:00.002-05:00

Making up for lost time...

Wahoo!

2008-10-02T12:50:00.006-05:00

I have a new camera!

Eta: Hmmm...things don't look so clear. Better start messing around.

Ha!

2008-09-29T15:26:00.004-05:00

"Well that is impressive!"

-WDB, looking at a photo of a cake I'm planning to make for his 4th birthday

Edited to add this for Mom and Molly:

I asked him what colors he wants and he told me, "Blue and brown and orange." He's very creative, no?

Coffee

2008-09-29T09:25:00.002-05:00

I should know better than to leave my coffee on the dining room table. Catie can climb.

I came downstairs after being up in my bedroom for a minute and found Catie sitting on a dining room chair with the coffee pulled over to her, using a lid to a water bottle as a spoon, drinking my coffee.

Like mother, like daughter!

The Apple Orchard

2008-09-28T18:54:00.006-05:00

We went to an apple orchard just northeast of Ankeny today with our friends Kara and John and their three kids, and Amy and Matt and their three kids. This place was so cool! They had a little tractor-trike hay maze, goats to feed, pigs, ducks, chickens, a baby cow, and some animal we couldn't name, the Three Little Pigs houses, a corn pool (Seriously! Like a swimming pool filled with corn! It was SO fun. So what if our adults were the only adults in there. And so what if I've found kernels of corn in our clothing even now that we're home.), apple sling-shots, a hay-rack ride, this awesome jumping pillow (like a bounce house in the ground), a corn maze, and an awesome little shop where they sold cider donuts, cider, caramel apples, apples, dips, etc. You can also pick your own apples, but by the time we did all of our playing, the kids were cranky and ready to scat.

Amy took some pictures for us while we were there-

Catie and her sweet friend Henry

The fam in the corn pool
The weird guy in the corn pool (wait, do I know him?)
Willy B. all covered with corn!

And now I have homemade apple crisp and I can't keep my paws out of it! STOP ME!!!

Photos!

2008-09-25T18:35:00.007-05:00

So here's the thing...I really want a new camera. The camera I have is too bulky to be convenient. But Dave doesn't want me to spend the money on a new camera. "Fix your camera, Angie," he says. "We don't need to spend money like that, Angie," he says. "I just spent $200 on a fireplace heater, Angie," he says. (Did I go there? Yep, I went there.)

I confess- I haven't sent it in yet. It's going tomorrow. Catie and I will drop off Will at school and we'll run to the UPS store to get it boxed up and sent. Who knows how long it will take- they have to diagnose the problem first, then agree to fix it for free. Hmmm...maybe they won't agree to the free fixage? Then I'll get my new camera! No. Wait. That's a waste of money. I do hope they fix it. Sort of.

But for now, I'll post some pictures that my sister Christina took this weekend. Enjoy!

Will and me in the gigantic tractor at Cousin John's farm.

Catie Cat at Aunt Lois and Uncle John's

Willy and me sliding down the huge slide at our neighborhood's Beaverdale Fall Festival.

(He wasn't a fan)

Caillou

2008-09-24T08:03:00.002-05:00

"Guess what's on? Baby-talk guy."

-WDB, turning on the tv this morning

Tasty!

2008-09-23T20:16:00.002-05:00

"MmmmmM! Now this is what I call good!"

-WDB, enjoying the whipped cream atop his sprinkle pancakes

A Visit to the Farm

2008-09-22T15:58:00.002-05:00

Over this past weekend the kids and I, along with my mom and sister Christina, took a trip up to northwestern Iowa to visit my grandma, aunt and uncle, and cousin and his wife and kids. While we were there we went to visit the farm my cousin John lives on and runs- the same farm his father and his father's father farmed. We were only there for a couple hours, but it was a fun-packed couple hours! We got to:

* see a couple barn kittens- Whitey and Pumpkin
* play with Billy, their boxer/black lab mix (Catie LOVED him!)
* watch Uncle John and Cousin John and Cousin Collin cleaning 50 bass that Collin and Big John caught that morning
* see and sit in the GIGANTIC tractor in the barn (Aunt Tina has pictures...hopefully she'll send them tomorrow!)
* ride in and drive a golf cart out to their pond (Will did this)
* ride on a 4-wheeler back to the house (Christina did this...and fell off the back!)
* go fishing for the first time ever (Will and Catie) and catch a bluegill (Will)! (Cousin John offered to let Will kiss his first fish- Will declined.)

And on our way home this morning, Will and Catie got to experience another first- a car accident! We were driving through a small town at about 35 mph when I saw an oncoming car turning right in front of me. I slammed on my breaks and honked the horn and pulled right into a parking lot, but was unable to avoid colliding with the other car. The driver was an 86-year-old woman who said she was paying attention to someone else pulling out instead of oncoming traffic. Everyone was fine and the car we were driving, Tom and Jean's Caravan, suffered only minor damage (we think!). The other driver's car had some pretty major front-end damage. She made mention that her insurance company "always sends her right to so-and-so body shop" which makes me wonder how often this happens!

And although we had a very nice visit, it's always nice to be home. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight!

Like a Trap, I Tell You!

2008-09-10T21:22:00.002-05:00

We were supposed to meet some friends at the mall play area today. I mentioned it to Will and he asked me if Elliott was going to be there. I told him that Elliott couldn't play because he was sick. Will said, "Oh right...he has Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease". I swear I only said that in front of him one time!

What are the Chances?

2008-09-08T11:18:00.005-05:00

I have received 2 phone calls this morning.

The first was from my friend Amy, whose son Elliott was diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease this morning. The kids have played with Elliott and his brothers a couple times in the past week.

The second was from my sister-in-law Sarah telling me that Cousin Ethan was diagnosed with Strep Throat this morning. The kids were playing with Ethan and company yesterday.

What are the chances the kids don't catch something? Little? None?

Oh well...kids get sick! What are you going to do? I suppose we should cancel our plans to go to the Y this afternoon just in case.

A Mish-mash of Stuff

2008-09-08T08:35:00.005-05:00

1. It's September 8 and we've already hit our high temperature of the day- 57*. It's dropping, and by mid-afternoon we're looking at 52*. I do love that the kids can wear their new fall clothes; they look so cute! My wardrobe, however...

2. On Saturday evening, Grandpa Tom arrived home safely after spending 30 days in Egypt. We made a quick trip up to visit him yesterday afternoon. The babies (Catie and Isaac) had no problem remembering Grandpa. Tom made an important announcement to the family- he loves his grandkids more than the rest of us. We thought he was going to tell us he wasn't going to go on crazy trips anymore!

3. While we were in Marshalltown, Will cut his toe really badly while riding a tricycle sans shoes. (He was expected to have them on, not the tricycle.) He was freaking out and we couldn't quite tell how deep the cut was, so we took him to Urgent Care. The PA cleaned him all up and snipped off some skin, but that's it. You'd think he cut his toe off, though, considering how he's walking around this morning. And yes, we've discussed the importance of shoes while playing on equipment. Now he knows why.

Be Still My Heart

2008-09-06T08:09:00.002-05:00

Friday was Will's first full day (well, all 2.5 hours of it) of preschool. Dave took Will to school, then came home so Catie and I could drop him off at work and then go grocery shopping. The three of us got into the car and as I got Catie buckled in she said, with this adorable, concerned look on her face, "Weewee?" Which in Catie-speak is "Willy?"

Awwww!

2008-09-03T21:28:00.002-05:00

Good "awww" of the day: Catie just went through a cognitive growth spurt. She's saying so many more things! Her newest was today- she gave me a big hug and said, "Ah yuh you." Which I'm pretty sure means, "I love you."

Sad "awww" of the day: Will was just so owly today! I figured he must not be feeling well, but he kept insisting that he was fine even though he complained/whined the whole time we were at the mall play area AND while we were at a very fun afternoon play group. Shortly after we got home from playing he told me his tummy didn't feel well. I went to hug him and he was burning up! Took his temperature and it was 102.5. The temperature isn't the "awww"...the fact that his first day of preschool is tomorrow is.

Zoiks!

2008-09-03T14:10:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Will's first day of preschool and I just put together two and two-

No working camera + first day of school = no photos of this huge occasion!

I'm seriously considering going to Best Buy tonight to buy one.

Spelling Bee

2008-09-01T15:55:00.003-05:00

Catie has picked up that written and typed characters are letters and numbers. She's also seen Dave working with Will on his reading. So now when she sees words and numbers, she imitates her big brother by "spelling" the word.

Today we went to a car show (moreso for the free bounce house) and they had numbers written on little signs to indicate where certain cars were. Catie went up to several signs and spelled them out; the sign that said "100" read "e...e...c...bah!"

Making Company Feel Really Welcome

2008-08-31T19:48:00.004-05:00

My friend from high school, Kate, and her husband Mark and twins Charlie and Maddie (17 months) were in town this weekend visiting Mark's family. (How awesome is it that a Chicago friend married an Ankeny guy?) They came over this afternoon to hang out for a bit and my kids were intent on making everyone feel as welcome as can be.

exhibit #1- Catie immediately hugged Kate and asked Kate to hold her. She also felt so comfortable with Kate that she dipped her chip in Kate's drink.

exhibit #2- Catie wasted no time hugging Maddie and lifting Maddie's shirt so she could look at her belly.

exhibit #3- Catie gave Charlie a little kiss when prompted. Charlie though he could probably get more than that, so he went in for several more very open-mouthed smackers.

exhibit #4- Catie shared her toothbrush with both Maddie and Charlie.

exhibit #5- As Kate and Mark and kids were heading out, Will told Mark he sure wished they could live with us.