JOY

Daredevil

Joe has never been afraid of slides, large or small, at the park.  He is much more daring than his sister was at this age.  It might be because I am more relaxed about the whole park thing since he is the second but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he is fearless!  He's taken some pretty big "diggers" at the park and had some gnarly bumps and bruises but he always gets right back out there within a few minutes!

Last night he finally went down the really big, tall, steep slide.  There is a slide similar to this at a local elementary school that is getting taken down because of injuries but I let him try it just the same.  Here was his reaction:

I'm curious to see if he'll ever want to go down this one again ;)

Winter vs. Spring

I think it might officially be spring around here!  We had a few nice days at the end of April/start of May and then we welcomed 8" of snow on May 2nd that cancelled school!  It melted within a few days and I think we are in the clear now!

We've been getting outside as often as we can - especially this week.  I worked at 2 a.m. (until 1 p.m.) this week so tiring out the kids and ensuring myself some sleep was important!  Joe is pretty good at bedtime but Amelia has been struggling lately.  She comes out several times because she "needs to talk to me" or she "needs something."  All the time outside eliminated that - she was exhausted!

Some pictures from our recent adventures (mostly) outside:

Amelia's new bike - handed down from a co-worker's daughter :)

Joe can bubble-mow for hours - literally!

Rolling out sugar cookies

Horse head pancakes on "Derby Day!"

We watched the Wild in the hockey playoffs

First "flower" bouquet of the year!

Gardening

Swings :)

Slides :)

Fearless guy who loves, loves, loves playgrounds

Fun at the MN Zoo!

We have all been enjoying the time outside these past couple of weeks and are looking forward to a fun summer!

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!!!!

Park Playdate

My lifelong friend, L, is in town with her two children, J and A!  They live down south currently so it is always a nice treat when they come to the north for a visit! 

We met at our old elementary school this afternoon so the kids could play and we could catch up a bit.

A showed Amelia her fun way of swinging:

 

I had to laugh because I have tried showing her this before but I guess sometimes it just takes another small person to really show how fun it is!

Amelia really took to A and at one point held her hand as they walked the playground.

It was neat to see because usually Amelia takes to older children better than ones her own age/younger.  

J really enjoyed baby Joe!  He played peek-a-boo with him, tickled him and pushed him in the swing!  Amelia got a little protective and made sure she was right there as J enjoyed time with her little brother.

All three kids enjoyed running around this pole!

It is so much fun to see our children interacting and playing together!

 

We attempted a group shot of the kids before we left.  You can imagine how that went...

The boys aren't looking in this one but I suppose boys will be boys ;)  Maybe next time we see them the kids will be more into picture time...

Friday Fun

Tonight my sister came to hang out with us! We hopped in the car and went to a new park. It is within walking distance but since rain was on it's way we decided to drive so we wouldn't be stuck out in it! Joey spent most of his time swinging and watching all the big kids run around and play. 

Amelia explored the small beach and found several seashells! 

(yes mom, I do realize she needs a haircut!) 

One of Amelia's favorite things tonight was "driving the car." 

In fact, before we could leave she had to run back to "drive the car" one last time! We left the park at dinner time and decided, what the heck, we'd eat McDonald's. Amelia was so, so excited when she realized where we were going. During dinner she asked me to "cheese" her and snuggled up with my sister. 

Since she ate her whole Happy Meal we decided to get some ice cream on the way home. Dairy Queen was a zoo and the one here is notorious for being very slow so we headed to the grocery store for dessert. Across from the grocery store we noticed a little sweets shop. When we pulled up they were closing (they close early - at 6!) but the owner let my sister go in and get us ice cream to go. It was our favorite, Cedar Crest, ice cream! Amelia was in heaven with her cookie dough ice cream!

Between the park, McDonald's and ice cream baths were in order. Amelia had a ball cleaning Joe. 

She is in charge of washing his tummy, knees and feet. I am in charge of his hair - with the watering can. She's the boss and I just follow orders ;) 

 Joe was so interested in the bubbles tonight. He just kept examining his hands. 

We needed this good night tonight. Hopefully the weekend will be just as good!

Chair of the Day

Amelia's chair choice of the day was her mini Poang Chair from Ikea!  We let daddy sleep in this morning because he let me sleep most of Sunday.  Seriously, all I did was eat sleep and nurse Joe all day upon returning home from work.  I felt lazy but I needed it!  We've been passing some sort of bug around our house and I am just barely keeping it at bay.  Jason hasn't been so lucky so we let him get some extra sleep today.

I was a softie this morning and let Amelia eat her breakfast in the living room while she watched Bubble Guppies.  She had a " baby blueberry cake" which is just a blueberry muffin.  I am totally fine with her thinking that it is cake :)

My choice for breakfast impacted dinner - which I had not counted on...

When I told Amelia that it was time to eat dinner she drug her Poang chair into the kitchen and placed it at the head of the table, sat down and started drinking her milk. When I asked her how she would reach the table to eat her hot dog she made it very clear that she had a plan. She just stood right up and started to eat. I am hopeful that she doesn't try this tomorrow because this isn't something we will allow long-term! It was cute for today though :)  

Just for fun - a picture of the kids at the park this evening :) I am so glad the warmer weather is back so we can spend time outside again!

 

We-Haw's Birthday

**We-Haw is what Amelia calls my sister. It started out as Ah-Hee, then it went to He-Haw and now it is We-Haw. No one is sure why.

Friday was my sister's 25th birthday! She came over to visit the kids and I. We went on a walk and ended up at the park :) Amelia could have stayed there all night swinging!

Joey had his first taste of playground fun in a tunnel!

We stayed at the park longer than we thought so we ordered pizzas for dinner. We seem to end up doing that almost every time Kim visits us...

Saturday afternoon we had lunch with my parents and Kim to celebrate her birthday as a family. We went to her favorite, the Mongolian BBQ in Stillwater. Joe sat in a high chair for the first time!

After our late lunch we went to a park in Bayport that we used to go to as kids (Jason did too!) Amelia is getting braver and braver at the park. This was the second day in a row that she climbed a rope ladder, alone!

Joe had his first taste of swinging. He thought it was great!

After the park we went back to my parent's house for cake and ice cream.

After cake Amelia and my dad fed the animals outside and then went to the school playground down the road. They were gone until dark. In fact, they were gone so long that we went out looking for them, fearing that something had happened! Everything was fine though. They were taking their time walking home and looking at the stars.

Sunday afternoon we went over to Jason's sister's house for a grill out with their grandma and a couple of their friends. Everything was so good! Liz puts out a good spread every time we are invited for dinner. We had to get our shopping done for the week on our way home so we didn't stay too late but we had a good time visiting!

All in all we had a busy weekend! It went by way too fast.