Tidbits

We have been busy.  

I have had little to no time to sit down at the computer!  

What have we been up to?

Last Thursday was the final MA open house at my sister's school.  Both kids were feeling a little under the weather (heavy congestion) that evening so, of course, they were both oh so pleasant.

Little Miss Attitude

Joe had his leg wrapped :)

Afterwards we stopped for some fast-food to try and wait out the rush hour traffic.

Friday we stayed home and Amelia and S rode their trikes through a sprinkler in the parking lot.

Saturday  morning I was able to enjoy the neighbor's morning glory's (for pretty much the first time) because we were outside for a yard sale.

 We made $108.50 in the sale which isn't too bad considering some neighbors decided they wanted to do it just last week.  We rounded up a good amount of stuff and got rid of quite a bit!  Everything that did not sell we re-evaluated outside.  Some went straight to Goodwill and about two diaper boxes worth came back in because we know we will be able to sell it online via Craigslist or a Facebook garage sale group.

Amelia was so funny - she insisted on wearing our neighbor Matt's leather jacket in 90 degree weather!  

Sunday morning Jason and I made Joe some baby "superfood."  A blend of carrot, tomato, green pepper, avocado, peach, squash, zucchini and banana.  

It tasted alright.  Yes, we both tried it :)

Sunday afternoon we met my family at Willow River State Park for hiking and grilling.

We hiked 4.2 miles!  We went to the Willow Falls because Amelia loves waterfalls!  On the way there Amelia and I brought up the rear:

That's right - she hiked the 2.1 miles to the falls and about halfway back!  She had her moments of whining to be carried but she did it - just like I knew she could.

We didn't hang around there too long.  It was a zoo!  I suppose that is normal for a holiday weekend though!  On the hike back Joey was my buddy:

He was passed out when we got back.  I'll tell you this, carrying a 27-ish pound baby plus the weight of the carrier (website states it is 6.6 pounds) is a great workout!  I was pleasantly surprised the next day when my back and shoulders felt totally normal!

Once we were back near the cars we grilled hot dogs and sliders for dinner.  After eating and cleaning up we headed home and both kids passed out within minutes!

Once we were home we spent some time outside with the neighbors.  I was sitting in a chair talking to D while holding Joe.  He was squirmy and sweaty and as I lowered him down to explore he slipped.  The concrete broke his fall:

I was a mess and he was hysterical.  He calmed down, shows no signs of concussion and is his usual happy self.  This bruise is growing and I still feel so bad about it!  I am so thankful he is ok!!!  Lesson learned - if he is squirmy just don't even bother trying to hold him.  Let him explore!

Yesterday, Labor Day, I put in nine hours at work and we spent the night at home.

Joe played with the hose while Amelia watered the "flowers" - aka cantaloupe.

We have nowhere to be tonight and nothing to do.  Well, besides the piles of laundry (which I am almost positive I won't end up doing) and getting ready for the first day of school tomorrow! 

Pre-K Open House

Tonight was open house for school!  Since Amelia is still "behind" in her speech and language she will continue to go to pre-K speech at the elementary school this year.  This year she is in the "Little Tiger" program, has a new teacher and will be going three days a week for three hours each day vs. two days a week for an hour and a half each day.  She was thrilled to go to school tonight and I had a hard time getting her to leave!

This evening we dropped off her supplies, met her teacher (who we knew from meetings already) and saw her classroom.  Amelia was very excited that there was a guinea pig and blew her teacher away because she knew what it was and could almost say it right!  Her teacher asked if she wanted to see the "mouse" and Amelia informed her it was a "gee-hee pi!"   His name is Gus.  We have our neighbors, M and D, to thank for her knowledge of guinea pigs - she loves theirs!

On our way out she ran across to the sensory room.  She'd been in there before I found out and she got herself a swing ride!

Her teacher told me they spend the first ten or fifteen minutes of the day in this room to loosen the kids up and get the "wiggles" out.  In addition to this neat swing there is one other type of swing, a ball pit, exercise/yoga balls, trampolines and a few other things I didn't recognize!

I didn't get milk on the way home from work today because Amelia belongs to the Kwik Trip Kid's Club so I wanted to take her for an open house treat!  With her membership card she gets a free cookie, donut, bagel or muffin when she is with me when I buy milk.  It's a neat program!   

**We buy our milk there in half gallon bags because it is so, so much cheaper.  A gallon of 2% is only $1.98 - the grocery store/Target can't beat that!

One thing I am excited about is the Scholastic book club program!  I remember my parents ordering us books from this same program when we were in school and I loved the day the book orders arrived and I got my new books!

I paged through it and have already found a few things to order her!  She has recently taken a huge interest in being read to (vs. just looking through books independently) so I want to encourage that as much as I can.  We've always kept books in baskets around our apartment and in her room in the hopes of getting her interested - it's finally happened! 

School officially starts next Wednesday!

Birthday Party Fun

Last Saturday we were invited to celebrate W's first birthday!  We know W's parents through one of my best friends and we all have babies right around the same age.  It is a lot of fun getting together!

H - 11 months, W - 12 months, C - 11 months, Joe - 10 months and D - 9 months

Babies with big sisters!

It was a wonderful afternoon!  We spent a ton of time outside - W's parents have a great yard!  Joe was enthralled with ladder-golf:

He played with this, alone, for at least fifteen minutes.  I'm betting he would have played longer but I took him in for present opening!

There were a lot of fun new toys for W but the hit was definitely the activity table. 

These guys (and gal) loved this thing!  Even Amelia squeezed in there a few times.  We don't have one of these tables so it was brand new to my kids!

Amelia had the best time.  She ran around with dogs and cats, pulled the wagon, played with C's big sister, S, visited the chicken coop several times and her favorite part of any birthday - cake.

Both kids were completely wiped out from our afternoon but they would not sleep on the way home!  Go figure ;)  We're looking forward to the next time we can get together with everyone again! 

 

Sunday at Home

It has been a long, long time since we have stayed home - all four of us.  Usually on the weekends I've worked (I'm on a M-F currently and loving it!) or we've had places to be/commitments to keep.  Not today though!  We were home - except for that walk we took :)

Home-made supports - sticks and zip-ties

Joe wielding the neighbor's home-made, wooden sword

Sunflower in our community, parking lot garden

She rode her car all day long!

Dinner, as a family, at home

Evening walk with the kids and S

Joe on our walk

Day at the Fair

We spent Friday at the Minnesota State Fair!

The fair is definitely different with kids - that is for sure.   We now spend time in the ride area, we have to stop to change diapers, eating takes a greater length of time (no more eating and walking!) and they get over-stimulated and cranky.  With that being said, we enjoyed the fair this year but I'll be honest in the fact that it was not as much fun - it was stressful.

We arrived bright and early at 6:30 a.m. to beat crowds, park easier and beat the heat.  We've been having temperatures in the seventies for about three weeks and now we are right back to 90+ degree temperatures and humidity - right in time for the "Great Minnesota Get-Together."

One of the first things we did was visit the DNR area so Amelia could see the fish before the crowds arrived!

She told us she found sharks and dolphins there with the fish.  I'm not so sure about that since they were all native to Minnesota!!!!!  

Amelia had her first face-painting this year and she did so good!

She was so happy with her "rainbow face."  I was impressed at how patient she was.  Since that went so well we went and got her some "fair hair."   Again, she sat so still and was so patient!

She was so excited!!!!

Final product:

She promptly ripped the crown off but look at how happy she was:

She kept checking herself out in this mirror.  Turning and smiling and clapping.

By the time she cooperated for a final picture most of the face-paint was gone but she still was a colorful sight!

Our next stop was the "kid-Way" to use the ride tickets we pre-purchased (at a cheaper rate!)

Joe was a trooper all day!  He spent a lot of time in his stroller and he was a good sport about it!

When we could, we let him out to explore!

He took his naps like a champ!

We are very fortunate that our stroller allows both the children to sleep at once!!!

See Joe's little feet poking out?

Our jogger (by Phil & Ted's) has an attachable second seat and there are several ways to configure it.  In the above photo Joe is in the main seat, fully-reclined, and Amelia is in the second seat, attached above the main seat, where a feeding tray is usually located on a regular stroller.  

Our usual set-up is this:

Milwaukee Trip, June 2012

Joe is behind Amelia in the second seat.  It was a hefty investment but it is beyond worth it for our family!

Another year at the fair is in the books for us and we are hopeful next year is a bit more enjoyable for all!

Home-made tie-dye (except for Papa...)

Little Friends

Amelia (3) and S (4)

Joey (10 months) and D (9 months)

Happy Wednesday!

Linked to "Wordless Wednesday" @ 5 Minutes for Mom

Sweet Moment

This evening we had a playdate at the park with our friend, L, and her son, D.  Joey was all over the place - exploring.  At one point I looked over and he had crawled to a ladder of sorts.  All of a sudden big sister showed up at the top of the ladder.  I started to get up to mediate but then she stuck her hand down to him.  He took it but she realized her plan wasn't working.  So she climbed partway down, took his hand again and tried to help him up the ladder.

I think I push her too much most days to get along with him.  This is a perfect example of why just stepping back and letting them be is needed.  

I snuck up behind them to snap this and as soon as she realized I was there the moment was over.  That's ok though - it's moments like these, that are far and few between, that I am reminded that she does love her little brother and that there is hope that they will get along semi-peacefully someday!

ps - Happy 29th Birthday to Daddy today!!!!