The Adventures of Alpha and Omega: the Uhl Family Blog

Tootsies

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Gillian finally persuaded me to break open the toe nail polish that Santa brought her and we did her nails. She was BEYOND thrilled!(Eww, yuck, ignore all those crumbs....)

More Pajamas!

2012-01-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

Last Friday the kids had Cocoa Day at school. They were allowed to wear their pajamas to school, take along their slippers, and have a yummy cocoa and marshmallow treat. The school also asked for donations of new hats, mittens, and scarves for a local charity. The kids and I discussed which pajamas they wanted to wear to their party. Gillian immediately knew she wanted to wear her Tinkerbell nightgown. It took Colin a while to settle on his alien pajamas. We finally convinced him that it would be cool to wear the PJs that Great-Aunt Lori made him and be UNIQUE!From all reports, it was a VERY fun day at school!

(And now this is our third or fourth post about pajamas this month....hmmmm)

Play-Do, Pajamas, and Sniffles

2012-01-26T14:04:00.003-05:00

So last week we had the sniffles, nothing major, just snot, coughs, and overall grumpies. We hung out at home one day in our pajamas, played some trains, did some laundry, and broke out the play-do for a bit.

That's was G's "strawberry red pie" she made all by herself.

C made a lovely blue snake.

No idea what that face was about!

More pie. Mmmmm.

Making noodles.

Fortunately, the sniffles weren't awful this time and didn't stick around too long!

Spin

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

For you, Mrs. K! We are certainly enjoying the bilibos! Although we think this is an "off label" use!

(Gillian was covering her cheeks because on New Year Day she got a rug burn on her cheek while spinning. Also, she was pretending to be a caterpillar and, yes, wearing ballet gear, just fyi.)

Colin was plenty happy to have a turn too.

Lots of giggles, that's for sure!

Skype-ing in PJs

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

We tried out skype last weekend for the first time with GraGra and Papa. In our pajamas. Is there any other way?

Colin was totally enthralled with his little picture down in the corner. He kept waving and showing off his feet.

Spiffy-ness

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Just a quick picture of the kids looking spiffy before school. Colin is all happiness. Gillian is pouting because she didn't want to wear blue jeans. How dare I make her wear jeans, right?

Thanks Leah and Uncle Willis for the cute sweaters!

A Lesson in Disappointment

2012-01-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

Before Christmas I had found a beginning ballet/dance class for Gillian to start in January. It was Thursday mornings for 45 minutes for 3-5 year olds. It was perfect for us; a great price and Colin and I could go run in the community center gym while she danced upstairs. Silly woman that I am, I told Gillian all about it and she helped pick out leotard, tights, and ballet slippers after Christmas. All pink. So the day class was supposed to start, she was all dressed and excited and could hardly contain herself! See:

What a NATURAL ; )

Colin even got in on the photo taking (unfortunately his finger was totally covering the lens):

So, off we go. All ready for class. At 10:30 we are right outside the door with two other little girls, waiting to go in and DANCE! The "teacher" walks up and flatly says, "I need 5 kids for the class. I only have 3. So it's canceled." She asked if we could do two other class times (during nap time or dinner time), but we couldn't. Meanwhile, Gillian is trying to take off her sweatpants and put on her ballet shoes. She totally didn't understand what was happening. When I finally got her to understand, she burst into tears. And I don't blame her. I had a few tears handy too. Fortunately she was pretty easily distracted, and we did go to the gym to play for a while. Luckily, there were some other little girls in the gym for her to have fun with. She did make me put on her skirt and ballet slippers while she played though! And she wore them while she napped that afternoon.

While she DID nap, I made a very polite and nice call to the recreation department suggesting that they CALL PEOPLE the day before a class if it's to be canceled. I totally understand not being able to run a class with too few people in it, but, really they could have handled it MUCH better. The lady I spoke to on the phone was very nice and sympathetic and explained that they usually DO place calls, but she wasn't sure what happened in this case. I also made my case that the teacher wasn't very personable and didn't even offer G an apology when she was in TEARS (Michael points out that perhaps we should be GLAD this woman wasn't G's teacher). Anyway, I promised Gillian I would find her a dance class as soon as I could. In the meantime, she's wearing her gear and dancing at home as much as possible.

More Colin Pics

2012-01-15T09:14:00.003-05:00

Colin is still a busy man with his camera this week. And he got new rechargeable batteries for it, so look for lots more in the future! Just a few to share:

(Still working on keeping that pesky finger out of the way....)

Bit of an unwilling model here...

My favorite this week. For some reason it makes me chuckle. Pancakes on tv. And he doesn't even like pancakes.

And some cute ones of Daddy and Sissy.

His flattery level is improving!

Holiday Vacation Museum Time

2012-01-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

While Daddy was off of work the week between Christmas and New Years we did a lot of household purging. A load to Goodwill, lots in the trash, some new storage ideas, you name it. We did take one whole day though to have some fun! It had been a while since we went to the Children's Museum and we thought it was time we went back. Uncle David was off that week too and he came with us (Aunt Cedes was working nights that week and needed some sleep)!

First up, a little art work!

(Colin made some paper!)

Then it was off to the "Make Shop," which is a new exhibit. The space it's in used to the the Mr. Roger's area. The museum has dismantled the old exhibit and placed some of the favorite pieces around the rest of the museum. We enjoyed the Make Shop, even if it wasn't Mr. Rogers!

Gillian and I used old plastic bags, melted with an iron, to make a scene of a fish pond, tree, and sun!

Meanwhile, the boys were playing with circuits. For a long time.

Next up were the kids' favorite exhibits. Colin is crazy for the "crooked floor" and attached slide! He loved to climb up the stairs, across the tilted floor, and down the slide. About 17 times.

Gillian loved this kaleidescope thingy-ma-jig. It was a turn table, scraps of fabric, a camera, and a projector. So you could arrange various colors and patterns of fabric on the table, spin the table, and watch the kaleidescope change on the wall in front of you. We played for a very long time!

I will admit, I highly enjoyed the kaleidescope too! Although, I really didn't get a turn to do it MY WAY!

Then we were off to the "Garage" section of the museum. Mr. Roger's trolley was there, some parachute making/flying machines, car tracks, and a large, ceiling high Rube Goldberg contraption.

Colin driving the trolley and watch the Rube Goldberg balls roll around the ceiling.

Another piece of the Mr. Roger's set...the traffic light. Colin remembered this from our first visit and talked about wanting to find it and use it when he found out when we were going to visit again!

Gillian and I spent some time building a parachute.

Then we took a lunch break. The museum was CRAZY busy that day (lots of people off between holidays, I think), so we snuck down to the "field trip" lunch room where it was relatively quiet for a break. The kids ate like they were half-starved, so their morning must have been fun!

After lunch we hit the top floor with the water play area. The camera stayed tucked safely away in Daddy's backpack. As always though, the kiddos enjoyed the water. We even spent a bit of time learning how the model lock works.

After some dry clothes, we hit up the "nursery" area. I think it's really meant for slightly younger kids, but C&G still enjoyed it.

Giant light bright!

Giant bird seed bin!

And a giant alligator to eat Uncle D!

We had had about enough by this point. So, we hit the kids' favorite spots one last time (the crooked floor and the kaleidescope) and gathered our art work, then hit the road! We had so much fun and were so glad to have Uncle D with us! And look at us on the way home:

Hmmm, we seem to have lost someone.....

Annual Family New Years Picture!

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

We usually do this on New Year's Day, but the whole Sunday/no Bowl Games thing threw us for a loop! So, anyway, here is our annual New Year's Day Family Photo taken on January 2nd! I like this tradition and hope to continue for as long as possible!

Gillian was positioned behind us because she refused to put on PANTS. Very representative of current life, I suppose, but I thought inappropriate for an actual portrait!

See previous years here:
2009
2010
2011

I always swear to people that my kids were very, very tough between 15 and 18 months. Now I have the pictures to prove it!

Colin Documents New Years

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

So Colin is a button man. Anything with a button is interesting to him. Especially if it runs something electronic. Like a camera. Lately he's been getting his little hands on our smaller camera whenever he could and taking his own pictures. When we got back from our Christmas travels, Daddy found our ANCIENT digital camera, put some batteries in it, and gave Colin some lessons. And you know what? He picked it up really well. He knows how to take a picture and then go look at it. Unfortunately he erases most of what he takes!

However, on New Years Day he documented pretty much the whole day and we got the pictures off the camera before he erased them! So, here is Colin's view of the day! Oh yeah, he doesn't take flattering pictures. Ever. It's a talent.

Momo is a favorite subject too!

Oh, and Daddy gets in on the unflattering action too!

We invited Matt, Rachel, Uncle Willis, Leah, Uncle D, and Aunt Cedes over to enjoy pork and sauerkraut with us for dinner (and the late Steeler game). Colin documented our guests too! Unflatteringly.

Uncle Willis with the bilibos on his head. The bilibos were universally enjoyed by our guests. They ARE anything you want them to be!

I think Uncle Willis took this one....

This one is my favorite one Colin took though...

Oh, and he got one more in on January 2nd when we attempted our annual family picture. He set the timer and left the camera on the tripod!

Very nice except for the finger print on the lens!

Can't wait to see what he photographs next!

One Last Stop for Christmas

2012-01-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, I was wrong, that wasn't the last Christmas post! The Monday after Christmas we took it easy all morning; we played with lots of new toys, sorted through packages, and (Mommy) did some laundry while relaxing with GraGra and Papa Greg. After a much needed nap we took one last trip over to Grammy and Papa Frank's house for our annual Christmas with the Keisters (Kristmas with the Keisters????).

Of course, Colin was ECSTATIC to be finally be playing with his best buddy JOE! As soon as we walked in the door he said, "Is Joe here???" And, he soon was! Gillian was quite taken with Joe this time too! They played so nicely (and quietly) back in the bedrooms and gave Mommy and Daddy a chance to visit with Mommy's friend Holly, her husband Deepak, and their gorgeous little girl, Anushka. Due to all this visiting, not many pictures were taken though!

After some hoagies and pizza and 14 desserts, we opened our LAST round of presents (I think this takes us to 6, maybe?).

Those mini-Pillow Pets from Mr. and Mrs. Clark were (and still are) a huge hit!

Jessie Bean enjoying her ginger animal and tea. Mmmmm.

Umm, Papa was drinking something that wasn't tea....

A nice, mostly calm evening with some of our favorite people. Thanks so much Mrs. Kathy, Tim, Jessie Bean, and Joe for loving us so much! The feelings are mutual!

A very nice ending to our holiday! It was straight home after breakfast in the morning and back into some sort of routine! Only with a lot of new toys!

Finishing Up Christmas!

2012-01-04T21:45:00.009-05:00

So after our Santa fun and yummy breakfast, we headed down over the hill to Great-Grandma's house for lunch. Everyone was still at church (with the donkey) so the kids had fun in the empty house running the big loop from room to room. Finally everyone gathered for some delicious lasagna and general craziness. After lunch we all piled in the living room with a pile of presents!

C&G had a wonderful time running and playing with all of their family, especially Sarah and Ben. They love their big "first cousins once removed." Such fun they have together! Apparently Sarah has been teaching G some ballet!

By 2:30 or so, the kids looked pretty wiped out, so Daddy took them back to GraGra's for a quick hour nap. I think they were out before their heads hit the pillows! Good thing they recharged because we were headed to Dickiedoo and Noonie's house when they got up! And, you know, more presents.....

By this point all four of us were stuffed (well, ok, the kids weren't, they don't eat much on holidays) and very tired. So, back to GraGra's for a quick bath and very happily all of us were OUT.

Good day. Very fun. Lots of laughs with family and yummy, yummy food. Best Christmas yet.

Partial Christmas Wrap-Up

2012-01-04T19:57:00.005-05:00

Ok, so behind. We had such a wonderful Christmas. We spent lots of time with family and Daddy had ELEVEN days off, so we really enjoyed that! And didn't do any blogging. HA.

Anyway, on Christmas Eve we were out the door and on the road right after breakfast! We went straight to Grammy and Papa Frank's house for lunch with Uncle D and Aunt Cedes. The kiddos were super excited. And even more so when they figured out some of the presents under the tree were for them!

Gillian dressed for the occasion. As always.

And then there were presents. Didn't take C&G long to figure the whole thing out. Gillian ended up walking around the room holding out presents saying, "Does this say Gillian?"

LIGHT UP SPARKLE SHOES! YAY!

C got his awesome draw bridge from Uncle D and Aunt Cedes. BIG hit.

G really enjoyed her Cinderella carriage set from Grammy and Papa too!

Colin says, "I'm a present. Unwrap me!"

So, he needed a snuggle for all that cute.

After lunch we went to GraGra and Papa Greg's to settle in for the weekend. The kiddos grabbed a little nap and we got the rest of our odds and ends taken care off. Uncle Willis fulfilled his traditional role of Christmas Eve chef and made pork carnitas for us, and we also had tacos (the kids were pretty darn happy). Then we took the kiddos to candle light church service (where Gillian was enthralled with Sarah and Colin just wanted church to be over). Then it was straight to bed after the cookies were left out!

Colin was sharing our room with us and he was at my bedside around 7:00. Which is pretty good for Colin! Before he came in our bed, I had heard bells in the living room. I couldn't quite figure out what it was, but I guessed it was Santa! So I told Colin that I had heard Santa in the living room earlier. Just then Uncle Willis' lab came into the room and shook his head (and belled collar) at us. Colin laughed and said, "That wasn't Santa! That was MILO!" He thought it was hilarious. We decided that Milo was being a helper puppy to Santa!

So we met Sissy in the living room and set to it!

Santa's stocking squishy balls were a bit hit!

Oh yeah, baby! It's the train shed Colin asked Santa for! YAY!

Oh and Annie and Clarabelle!

Gillian unwrapping her Bitty Baby from Mommy and Daddy. We finally decided on naming her Louise.

Colin opening some cool magnet cars with Papa Greg.

And then G opened a package from GraGra and Papa. It was her very own NUTCRACKER! Just see that look on her face! Now, that's pure Christmas joy. I love it!

Grammy and Papa Frank joined us for a tasty breakfast and they helped the kiddos try out a lot of their new goodies. Then we got cleaned up and ready to go to Great-Grandma's for lunch....more on that later!

Tree Time!

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, since it was a week until Christmas, it was probably time for us to get a tree! So, into the car we all went!

Over the hill and to our favorite local farm, same one where we got our pumpkins! And into their greenhouse, shed -type building. And, well, since it WAS only a week until Christmas, the picking were slightly thinned! But, we knew what we were looking for......and we found it!

While Daddy paid for our lovely tree, the kids and I checked out some of the other Christmas stuff! Colin had his eye on this tractor the whole time we were looking for a tree!

Bean got in on the tractor action too!

She also had some fun with the "tree scene"!

(I have no idea why, but this picture cracks me up)

By then we were ready to load up the tree! Always fun to watch!

(Oh, and check out the accommodating snow flurries! Just special for our tree picking day!)

So, we got home, the kids played in our 1/2" of snow and Daddy got the tree in the stand and put up in the dining room. Then we ate lunch and put the kiddos down for nap. While they were sleeping Daddy put up the lights and tinsel (YAY!!!) and I made some cookies. After nap, the kids helped us put the ornaments on!

This train was a big hit. Surprise, right?

All in all, not a bad little tree, huh?

Cookie Fun

2011-12-23T20:00:00.001-05:00

The weekend before Christmas we were quite busy! On Saturday, Grammy and Papa Frank came down for the day with cookies on their agenda! But first, on Friday after nap, the kids and I cheated our way into some sugar cookie dough:

I rolled and cut after the kids went to bed that night. Sadly, one pack only made about 14 LARGE cookies, so Michael had to run out and get another cheater cookie dough mix for me on Saturday! I swear, I bake all my other cookies from scratch, but I CANNOT get sugar cookies to work for me. So, I let that one kind slide and use good old Mrs. Crocker. Thanks to all my friends for that recommendation!

So, on Saturday, the kids were QUITE excited to see Grammy and Papa! We played for a while before hitting the cookie assembly line. The kids were eager to show their grandparents their Elefun game, trains, dolls, and ballet dancing!

We did the original cookie batch with Grammy and Papa! Green, red, and white icing and lots and lots of sprinkles!

Uncle D and Aunt Cedes came over near lunch time and we had a very nice lunch and visit. By then the second batch of cookies was cool and ready to go. C&G were quite happy to climb back up on the assembly line with Uncle D and Aunt Cedes this time too!

Oh, and somewhere in here, Gillian found time to make a lovely foam gingerbread house with Grammy. They worked so carefully and beautifully! The house is perfect!

So, a nice visit with our family and some cookies in the freezer (minus the few that got munched at lunch!)! I think this a good tradition to keep around for a while!

Around the World at Preschool!

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last Friday the kiddos had their last day of school before Christmas and they celebrated with a little party (and invited their parents). They had a nifty little "Christmas Around the World" theme and each classroom was decorated as a different country (England, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, and Mexico) and the teacher in each room told about the traditions of each different country while we visited. Ok, so this was a bit much (and a bit boring) for the 2 year olds, but I enjoyed it and the kids got a stamp in each room, so it worked out!

Gillian wanted to wear a fancy dress and so she did! This was actually LAST year's dress and it fits her much better this year. It's a 24 months, but it must run HUGE. The bloomers that match it STILL don't fit her waist, too big!

Here are the kids listening to stories about other countries. Their favorite part was learning about the pickle ornaments that German families hide on their trees as a game on Christmas. Grammy has a pickle for her tree, so maybe we'll try to find it this year!

After our long journey around the world, we came back to Miss Heather's room for cookies and punch! YUM!

We had a very nice time at the party and the kids had fun too, I think! I know they love school and pretty much anything that comes along with it! We can't wait to get back after the New Year!

An Adventure....with TRAINS!

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend GraGra and Papa Greg came to visit for some shopping and a big adventure! So, Saturday morning GraGra, Papa, and I hit the mall and other places and Daddy stayed home with the little troops. We didn't really shop all that long and we were back in plenty of time for Daddy and I to enjoy a night out at our favorite Thai place and Giant Eagle (yes, we're lame).

Anyway, on Sunday morning we were up bright and early to surprise the kiddos with a TRAIN ride and trip into the city to see the PPG Christmas displays! We previously had been just telling the kids we were going on an adventure, so all morning Colin kept telling us "This is a great adventure!"

We got off the train downtown and walked a few blocks to PPG Place. The kids enjoyed the huge Christmas tree in the square!

This was the kids' attempt at a picture with GraGra. This is as close together as they would get. Goofballs.

We visited the Wintergarden where they have this lovely tree and some model trains and a ton of community made gingerbread houses.

Colin was smitten with the trains. He walked loop after loop after loop just watching the trains go. His favorite part was watching this steam-y come out of the tunnel, time after time.

Happy, train-loving boy.

I don't seem to have a picture of Gillian, but she enjoyed herself as well. She checked out the trains and the gingerbread houses. Then she hung out with GraGra and played with a water bottle and had some crackers. She was visiting with Uncle Willis and Leah, who had joined us for the morning too. Then both kiddos got Daddy to take them outside to see the dinosaur statues.

Then we all walked over to Market Square for some lunch. Well, everyone except Colin had lunch. He ordered mac n' cheese (a favorite) and didn't eat a singe bite. G managed to eat a bite or two of her lunch and some of GraGra's lunch, so she wasn't quite as bad. But Colin was quite miserable at lunch. I think he was just plain old exhausted at this point.

So after lunch, back a few blocks, and back on the train. Such happy train riders.

We finally made it back to our park-n-ride spot and in the 15 minutes back to the house, BOTH kids were asleep in the car! They NEVER sleep in the car. I think it's been at least 18 months since they last did that! I guess our Big Adventure wore them out!

Christmas Program Meltdown, Colin Style

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

After our St. Nick adventures we headed off to preschool for the school's special Christmas program. They only offered the program on Tuesday and Wednesday, and since our school day is Friday, they offered parents the chance to bring their kids in and stay with them through the program. Since we are always looking for a morning adventure, we said SURE. We were the only Friday students to do so though!

We joined Miss Heather, the kids' regular teacher, and her Tuesday/Thursday class (and our friend Xavier) on their way through the sanctuary. We visited five or six "stops" and listened to the shepherds, angel, Wise Men, and Mary as they told us their portions of the Nativity story.

C&G enjoyed the shepherds' herd:

And the Wise Men's words (that's Xavier playing the part of Wise Man #3):

They did a nice job of listening to each portion of the story and saying Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus at the end. The minister who spoke to them at the last stop totally lost them though; I surely hope he's not the Youth Minister!

When we made it back to the lobby, Miss Heather was ready to take her class to the Muscle Room (their gymnasium), and I told my kiddos it was time to head home, Colin had a fit. He yelled and cried and generally let it be known that HE WAS NOT HAPPY and HE DID NOT WANT TO GO HOME. He wanted to STAY. Miss Heather told me that he's unhappy every class day when they say it's time to go home! Oh poor boy! I totally understood why he was upset. But still! A fit in front of the teacher is not a welcome thing!

Eh, well, we all survived.

Belsnickel

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, December 6th was the Feast of St. Nicholas, or Belsnickel. Daddy always celebrated Belsnickel when he was little by leaving out his shoes or boots for St. Nicholas to leave a treat (if he was good) or some coal (if he was bad). So the night before I had C&G find their snow boots (that we hadn't even WORN yet!) and set them for St. Nick. If he brought them treats, then they were hanging out on the Nice List, and if he brought them coal, then they needed to work on getting off the Naughty List!

So, let's see what Good Ol' St. Nick brought!?!?

A beautiful Cinderella ornament for Gillian!

And a cool Thomas ornament for Colin!

Huh. They must on the Nice List after all!

Seeing Santa

2011-12-18T16:30:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago, before the Nutcracker and dinosaurs actually, we went to Daddy's work's Christmas Party for Kids. It's an annual tradition; they offer crafts, cookies and milk, balloon animals, and SANTA. It's a very nice little set up. We learned after last year to get there very early to have an "early" number for Santa!

While we WERE early we had probably a twenty minute wait before we were called to see The Big Guy. So we did a craft or two (Gillian was WAY into that), got two balloon Rudolphs (very much appreciated), and we saw RUDOLPH. Colin was slightly enamored with the red-nosed reindeer. He stalked him around the room, staring, and talking a mile a minute. Finally Rudolph got close enough for Colin to talk to him and get a picture taken. I know it doesn't look like it, but, I promise, Colin L-O-V-E-D this guy!

Then we got called to see Santa (this thing is uber-organized, that's how engineers roll). I think they forgot to call the numbers after us for a while, because there weren't any people behind us, so we could take our time with Santa!

Now, they don't look like HAPPY children. BUT, they don't look like TERRIFIED children either. Colin just sat there staring straight ahead and reciting what he had put on his Christmas list. Santa kept nodding, so I THINK he heard him. I think G remembered to tell him a thing or two too, but they were both so quiet that I can't be SURE. There were no tears, anyway, and C&G SAID they talked to Santa. So, we'll take it as a SUCCESS!

Then we had some cookies and milk (for G) and Cheetos and milk (for C) with our friends Ian, Julia, and AJ! Fun morning!

Girls' Afternoon at the Ballet

2011-12-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

So the same afternoon that the boys went to the dinosaur museum, Gillian and I went to see the Nutcracker! The Pittsburgh Ballet does a lovely version of the Nutcracker yearly, but the tickets are WAY expensive and I think it's a bit much for a three year old. However, I found a local ballet school that was doing their annual showing at a nearby high school, and at a reasonable cost, so I got Bean and I tickets. I even scored us third row seats!

Gillian's fun started when I let her pick which of her THREE fancy Christmas dresses she wanted to wear for the afternoon. She's been DYING to wear one! She chose the "jeweled" one and was pleased as punch to put it on. She was even more excited when I put on MY dress. (Apparently my daily yoga pants aren't up to her fashion standards.) I even got out her special bell necklace that Grammy gave her and let her wear it for the first time.

Gillian did not stop talking the.whole.way.there. It was pretty funny for to her be the chatterbox. She's usually quieter than her brother! We got there about 20 minutes before 2:00 the show and the lobby was packed. The theater wasn't open yet, so we wandered about, used the potty, and admired all the other little girls in their pretty dresses. Finally it was about 1:58 and the doors weren't open yet! Um, hello? They did finally let us in but the show didn't start until about 2:20. Not my favorite part of the day, especially when we're skipping nap! G was very good, she played with her seat, her necklace, and checked out the program. But she wanted to know when the SHOW WAS GOING TO START!

We grabbed a quick self-portrait. Not too bad!

Once the show started Gillian was very interested in what was going on. I should have read up on my Nutcracker as I struggled with the details in spots, but we got the general idea. She got the whole broken Nutcracker part and wanted to know why Clara's brother was so bad. Ha. Towards the end of the first act Bean started to get antsy and wanted to know if it was over yet. Thankfully it wasn't too long until intermission. We stretched our legs and hit the potty again. Then Gillian wanted to check out the oversized Nutcrackers in the lobby for a bit.

We waited our turn and took a quick picture!

Gillian was REALLY into those big Nutcrackers!

Thankfully the second act was a bit shorter than the first! And Gillian saw her favorite part of the whole show! Before the Chinese dancers came on, a giant Chinese dragon came across the stage (with about 40 little feet under it) and floated about for about 30 seconds. The rest of the show, G wanted to know when it was coming back!! Glad she found something she liked!

All in all, I think G had a good time. For a while after the show, she wouldn't talk about it. And she told us that, "I don't want to talk about it." But finally, about 10 days later, she FINALLY started pretending ballet dancing! YES! I will say, it was so nice to spend a day with my little girlie. We definitely need to do that more often!

Boys and Dinosaurs

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Colin and I took a trip into the city to go to the "Dino" museum - better known to adults as the Carnegie Museum of Natural History - while Lea and Gillian went to see The Nutcracker performed by a local youth ballet company. I wasn't really sure how well this trip was going to go, as Colin doesn't seem to have a huge interest in dinosaurs, certainly nothing approaching his overwhelming love of trains. My fear was that the museum wouldn't hold his attention, especially since this museum isn't really as interactive as say the Children's Museum or the Carnegie Science Center. But, he seemed excited as we left the house, so I hoped that everything would go well.

On of the big draws for Colin was the opportunity to ride in the "blue car" (the little Saturn that I drive to and from work everyday). As we don't have two sets of car seats, and moving the ones we have is something of a pain to move, they don't often (ever) get to ride in it (I think that Gillian did once while Colin was in the hospital). So, Colin was pretty excited as we piled into the car to head into the city. He's quite the little chatter box. I don't think that he stopped talking once during the entire ride into the city. He was especially excited when we "sneaked-up" on "his" city as we rounded a curve on Carson St. and the city skyline sprang into view.

Upon arriving at the museum, a security guard informed us that we couldn't carry our backpacks with us through the museum, so, Colin and I had to get some change so that we could put our backpacks into a pay locker in the coat room. After stowing our gear, we set out to find the dinos.

When you first enter the dinosaur exhibit at CMNH, there's a series of displays about the prehistoric world. These displays have large globes with the configurations of the continents in different time periods projected on the insides. At the bases of these globes are informational plaques and touch-screen computers. These, I think, ended up being the highlights of the museum for Colin. The computers weren't limited to the continents either, each of the dinosaurs had a computer that would give extended information about each dinosaur. Here's Colin using one.

For each dinosaur, the computer would present a screen where it showed the dinosaur as if it were alive (that is, covered with skin), it would then fade-in the skeleton as set-up in the museum. Colin loved this. He said that he was "emailing pictures of those dinos."

Colin did like the big long-neck dinosaurs - especially their long tails.

One of the tails went over the pathway that we walked on. Colin thought that this was pretty cool because the tail was "like a bridge". We did eventually move on to the other dinos. I was excited because they have a very nice T-Rex exhibit. Colin posed for a photo with the beast:

We did see some other things beyond the dinos as well. We went through the Polar World exhibit which includes at lot of stuff about the Inuit, including a life-size model igloo. Colin thought that was pretty cool, and we decided that we would try to build one some day. We also went through part of the Carnegie Museum of Art.

I was interested to see what he thought about the art museum part because we have little book about a trip to an art gallery that Colin and Gillian really seem to enjoy: Miffy at the Gallery. Colin did appear to be interested (at least initially) in the gallery. We saw a mobile (I would guess that it was a Calder, but I'll admit that I didn't get the chance to check), and a Monet (Water Lilies, a personal favorite), and a bunch of photos of Pittsburgh. After about 20 minutes, though, he was ready to move on.

Colin was starting to get tired (we did skip his nap), so we took one last swing through the dinos. Colin wanted to take some pictures of the dinos himself, so I helped and we took this one:

We also snapped a self portrait:

What a cheezer. Anyway, we had a great day.

Snow Shoe Sillies

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night, Daddy went out with some friends for the evening. After dinner, I was straightening up and the kids came up with this "game." They put my oven mitts on their feet as snow shoes and ran around in the "cold."

Of course, no one has on pants. And our house is a toy explosion. But, my favorite part is when Colin starts calling Gillian "Millie" (one of their favorite cartoon people) and she just picks up the game immediately and goes with it (calling him Geo, Millie's brother). I love that pretend play. And how seamlessly they play together. And their giggles are so great.

Thomas vs. The Wise Men

2011-12-11T14:00:00.001-05:00

Last week we got out our Little People Natvity set. Jesus and his people have had some interesting adventures since then. Mostly they ride the school bus. Or they get packed into tiny gift bags and handed out as presents. "A Wise Man??? THANK YOU! Just what I always wanted!"

Their most interesting adventure, in my mind, was the Nativity Gang versus Thomas and Friends rumble in the living room.

(Looks like Momo is going to take them ALL out though!)

Really, both "gangs" were enjoying Gillian's reading of a Wonder Pets book.

Thankfully no one was hurt.

Our Letters to Santa!

2011-12-07T20:41:00.004-05:00

Right after we got home from our Thanksgiving adventures, we sat down to write our letters to Santa. We wanted him to have time to make sure that he had SOMETHING that was actually on the list!

Gillian and I sat down together and she told me what to write for her. It took her a while to narrow down some specifics for her wishlist. She had been telling us three or four or five different things for weeks!

Here's what she settled on:

(In case you can't read it: Dear Santa, My name is Gillian. I have been very good this year. Please can you bring me Tinkerbell, Prince Charming, and Baby Cinderella. That's all I need. Love, Gillian. The "That's all I need" was all her idea!)

And she included this picture of Cinderella that she had colored:

Colin had Daddy help him with his letter.

He also drew this awesome picture of Santa on his letter! It was the first "person" picture that he has ever drawn! Pretty cool! Daddy thinks it looks like Jack Skeleton from Nightmare before Christmas!

(His says: Dear Santa, My name is Colin. I have been very good this year. Please could you bring me: A Shed, A Roundhouse, Trains, Thomas, and Annie and Clarabelle. Regards, Colin)

The next morning we took our letters to the mall and mailed them in Santa's special mailbox!

Won't be long now until we see if Santa got our mail!!! We are trying so hard to be on the Nice List!

Ham.

2011-12-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Colin has been QUITE the ham lately. He's decided that he likes to sing. Except, he doesn't really stick to the traditional words. Or melody. Or rhythm. But he has enthusiasm.

Every night before bed, Daddy or I count sheep and sing Baa Baa Black Sheep with Colin. He started to sing alone with Daddy a while ago. And it's hilarious. I caught him singing it at lunchtime one day last week. He needed a little help moving along the song.

The part where Gillian chimes in FROM THE BATHROOM kills me.

Turkey Day Catch-up

2011-12-03T14:07:00.003-05:00

I think we are still recovering from Thanksgiving, over a week later! We just finished unpacking the last suitcase today! Anyway. Catching up on Thanksgiving!

A few years ago we happened to HAVE to travel on Thanksgiving morning. AND IT WAS AWESOME. So, now we do it every year. No traffic, fast trip, just in time for lunch. PERFECT. We had a lovely lunch at Grammy and Papa Frank's house with Uncle D and Aunt Cedes. Colin even tried a brussel sprout. And the only picture we got was our attempt at a family photo.

G insisted on wearing the Rapunzel dress, sitting in Grammy's little chair, AND holding two bears. On Colin's side, we had pumpkin insistence. So, it was great, needless to say.

The kids took an amazingly good nap after lunch (given that they hadn't eaten enough turkey to fall victim to it) and then we headed in to to see Dickiedoo and Noonie. We mostly just visited and picked at their feast. The kiddos had so much fun playing with my step-brother's 11 year old son, Dalton. Giggles, giggles, giggles. It was great.

On Friday, I took the kids to visit my Grandparents Bish. We also saw my Aunt Pat and her grandkids, Alyssa and Adam, and my cousin Becky, her husband Haiko, and their son Sven. The kids played with Alyssa and Adam so nicely. They played dominoes and cars and wrestled and laughed the entire time. I think my Grandparents had the best time just watching all the crazy. I wanted a couple of pictures of the kids with my Grandparents, but the kids wouldn't get a picture without me in it. I was NOT prepared to be photographed, but the pictures were worth it!

Great-Grandma and the kiddos! (Yes, that's my 87 year old Grandmother on the FLOOR. Man.)

Great-Grandpa and kiddos!

Friday evening, Grammy and Papa Frank were kind enough to wrangle C&G for us! We met Matt, Rachel, Samantha, Tim, and Betsy to watch "The Muppet" movie and have some Mexican for dinner. It was so nice to spend the evening with old friends (and family). You knows those friends that you don't see for months or years at a time and sit down together and it's like no time has passed? Yeah, that's awesome.

Saturday morning we headed out to my Grandparents' Smith house for Crazy Turkey Day #3. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of noise. Great, crazy fun.

Any, hey, look! We finally convinced Grandma to sit a large portion of the day instead of working so hard (and thanks to Matt, Rachel, and Aunt Lori who picked up most of her work!)!

My cousin Becky's little girl, Sarah, and Gillian were FAST buddies almost off the bat. G told Daddy, "I try to ask Sarah to be my friend, but she too quick, I can't catch her." I think they were friends anyway!

Those girlies even made a "Girl's Club" and kept trying to shut Colin out of the bedroom they were playing in. I think he took it in stride though. He was laughing about. But I think he was a little confused as to WHY he couldn't play with his BFF, Gillian. Not sure his sweet, friendly little brain could compute the girls only game!

FOOD!

(Even after feeding 35-ish people there were enough leftovers to feed about 20 more people!)

After that enormous feast, we hauled ourselves back to Grammy and Papa Frank's house to celebrate Papa's birthday with the Keisters. Colin was beyond thrilled. BEYOND. He loves Joe. While we were eating dinner, Colin would lean over on Joe's arm, gaze up at him, and say, "I love you Joe." Those boys played and played and played (OK, Joe is 22 I shouldn't call him a boy, young MAN). And Gillian colored with Jessie Bean (and Bean tried to teach the importance of re-capping your markers). It was so nice to visit with our Keisters. They kids have so much fun with them (as do Daddy and I)!!

Next morning we were up early, ate some of Papa's waffles, and helped Grammy light the Advent candle.

Then it was home again, home again. And we're still recovering. Ok, well, I am still recovering. The kids seem fine ; )

Ideas

2011-11-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Santa,
Colin has big ideas for you.

Please don't bring anything that won't fit in our house.
Thanks,
Mommy

Fix It Helpers

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday Daddy asked Uncle D to come over to help him put in our new storm door on the front of the house. Uncle D kindly agreed to help. We fed him dinner as payment. I was trying to finish watching the Steeler game, so I sent the kids out to "help." I'm so kind.

Colin had been telling us all day that he was going to get his tool box out and help fix the door. I don't think ever got out his tool box, but he did help. Gillian mostly supervised. And banged on things with the rubber mallet.

Apparently Colin got in on the rubber mallet action too.

Uncle D and Daddy did a great job. Not much cursing. Nothing broke. No extra runs to the hardware store. It was done and done correctly in 2 1/2 hours. Just in time for dinner. Oh, and the Steelers won.

Cats and Toys

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Seems the kitties have been enjoying the kiddies' toys lately. One day last week we caught Weasel attacking G's Cinderella dress. She would bat it and pounce on it and wiggle inside it and finally she settled for a nap on top of it.

Momo has also been enjoying the C&G's castle tent. Especially when the kids pile up all the blankets and pillows inside to make a space fit for a King. Only befitting.

Two Bike Riders!

2011-11-19T13:42:00.002-05:00

Colin put on his helmet! And off he went!

Thankfully the weather has cooperated for a few more bike rides this month!

Applesauce and Candid Cameras

2011-11-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

Our assignment for Thanksgiving at Great-Grandma's house is applesauce. Oh, and green salad. GraGra gave us a big bag of apples last weekend when we were visiting, so I thought it would be a fun post-nap afternoon activity to whip up our applesauce. (And then freeze it until the big day)

I cut and cooked the apples while the kids napped and let it cool for a bit. Then we set up the food mill and off we went.

While it was Gillian's turn to turn the mill, Colin got bored. He found the camera and wanted to take some pictures. Ok, fine. Here's his handy work:

(I need to get him to work on taking FLATTERING pictures)

Of course, then G wanted a turn. She took a more "still life" approach.

So, our applesauce turned out super yummy. GraGra had GOOD apples. It was so good that we volunteered to bring applesauce to Grammy's house for Thanksgiving too!

Breakfast Tradition

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Reading the cereal box. You know you did it too.

Drive By Penguining.

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday while we were getting some dinner ready our phone rang. It was my cousin Matt. He wanted to talk to Colin and Gillian. Ummm, ok. Not something that usually happens, but SURE. So, he told them to go outside and look under their deck! So we did.

The kids and I were THRILLED to see a blow up yard penguin!!! Woo hoo! C&G LOVE those blow-up decorations.

Daddy? NOT.AT.ALL. Hates them.

HA! Matt and Rachel had sneaked into our yard, set up the penguin, and sped out of the drive-way before we realized anything. Umm, thanks guard cats.

Daddy was SO thrilled. Good thing it was Matt....if anyone else had tried this, it wouldn't have gone over nearly as well!

So, meet Puffy. That's what we named him! The kids like him. After Thanksgiving he'll move around to the front of the house!

Election Day Fun

2011-11-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was a beautiful, sunny, warm November day around here (very much like Election Day 2008, my first day out of the house after the kids were born!), so we took advantage of the day!

I had to work at 11:00, so the kids and I got out the door early and went to vote. It's pretty hard to explain "voting" to three year olds. Who knows what they thought we were doing! When we got home, we parked outside and got the bikes out for some fun!

Hey! Look who decided to put on his helmet to ride!

Colin insisted on giving his giraffe a ride on the back of his bike. He fit perfectly.

They were having a blast!

Everyone Loves Thomas

2011-11-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

Everyone.

Snow on the Pumpkins

2011-11-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin Fun

2011-11-06T20:10:00.005-05:00

The Friday before Halloween we decided to carve our previously picked pumpkins. It was pretty chilly so we put down a tarp in the foyer and just had our fun there. It was Daddy's job to cut and the kids and I scooped guts.

First up was G's "warty" pumpkin. She chose this one and specifically wanted a bumpy one.

Apparently warty pumpkins are TOUGH.

We had a "tough to cut" contest. My beautiful white and orange striped pumpkin was the toughest (and it was rotten inside, boo), then G's warty guy, and then, the easiest, was Colin's traditional smooth pumpkin. Daddy is going to encourage us to buy only smooth pumpkins next year.

Despite the tough squash, the tops did come off and the kids and I scooped guts.

The kids did a great job scooping. They didn't really like to touc the stuff with their hands (I LOVE that stuff), but they did a really persistent job with their spoons. Colin was cracking me up as he was working, he has talking and talking and talking to his pumpkin. I can't remember exactly what he was saying; he was just making small talk.

Next up, the kids told Daddy what kind of faces they wanted. They picked which shapes to make the eyes and nose, and then what kind of mouth they wanted (happy, sad, scary, surprised).

Colin picked "Suprised" Jack O'Lantern this year. I like it.

Gillian chose a "Happy Jack O'Lantern" for her bumpy guy!

So, 2011 Halloween Jack O'Lanterns!

Goofy kids! Cute pumpkins though.

I'm Thomas!

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

Colin is a little Thomas obsessed at present. He runs around "Woot Wooting!" all over the place. It's actually become common for people at the play ground to think that his name is Thomas... which is understandable as Colin runs up to them and yells "I'm Thomas".

Anyway, a couple of months ago, Lea asked the kids what they wanted to be for Halloween. Colin said that he wanted to be Thomas. So, Lea - being a good mother, and encouraging her children's dreams - said "Sure, Dada will make you a Thomas costume." And so began my project... Slowly at first. I would come home from work and Lea would say "How's Thomas coming", and I would say "Thanks for that. Has he changed his mind yet?"

Alas as we drew within three weeks of Halloween, I determined that Colin wasn't going to change his mind. So I started in earnest. First, you have to know what it is that you're going to build. So I started looking for pictures of Thomas from which I could take measurements. Eventually I found one that appeared to be serviceable and proceeded to make a measured drawing. It turned out alright, but it turns out that I failed to correct for some perspective issues in the original image.

(Note some key stats for Colin on the right-hand side)

With some dimensions in hand, it was time to figure out how to implement this machine in cardboard. So it was time for some shop drawings (though the final product doesn't exactly match the dimensions on the shop drawing):

(A little math on the bottom figuring out the dimensions for Thomas's curved roof)

It was then time to start actual construction. Fortunately we have a large supply of cardboard boxes in the basement from diapers and the eventuality that we may someday move. I selected stock that had been Weasel damaged (Weasel loves to scratch cardboard boxes) and went to work cutting out the major structural elements of Thomas. Alas we have no pictures of this portion of the process.

However, here's a picture of my injury from not using the right tool for the job. I was using a pair of scissors as a knife and cut myself on the blades. I didn't realize that I had cut myself, and I was looking at spots of red on the cardboard and thinking "I wonder where that came from?"

Here's a picture of two of the three major sub-assemblies:

...and Colin trying on the proto-Thomas (Colin told me that it was awesome, and it didn't even look like Thomas yet!):

The last major sub-assembly was the roof of Thomas's cabin. I was a little concerned about how well the curved roof would turn out, but it actually turned out better than I expected (seen below in a partially painted state).

From there on out the project was mostly just painting. I hate painting with brushes, but spray paint is more fun.

Masking components to paint multiple colors was kind of a pain...

...but worth it in the end:

Thomas still needed more detailing, and I debated about whether I should paint them on or not - with the other option being to use some of the red duct tape that I had used in the construction for some of the red lines on Thomas. At the time I thought that the masking would take more time than the tape, but in retrospect, I think that the painting would have been faster. I do sincerely wish that I had painted the yellow 1's on his sides (I used yellow electrical tape). Still, he looks pretty decent (though missing a face).

And this brings us to the final question: What to do about Thomas's face? The Thomas is pretty awesome, and very 3D, so a 3D Thomas face seems appropriate to me (and Uncle Al). Lea, however, thought that a 2D face would be fine. I just couldn't bring myself to lower my Thomas with a 2D face except as a last resort. So, I bought some floral arranging foam and proceeded to carve a 3D Thomas face.

Alas, the green floral foam turned out a darker gray than I had hoped to get, but I think that it'll do.

And here's the finished product:

As mentioned above, I do have a few regrets... not painting the details, and here's the big one: there's a seam in one of the boxes forming Thomas's body that I forgot to tape before I painted him. If you look at the picture of the un-detailed Thomas sitting in the drive way, you'll see it. It kills me everytime that I do, but it would be a big pain to fix at this point, so I'm living with it not happily.

Also, as much as I complained during the process, I did enjoy it. I might even consider building other costumes in the future.

A Different Sort of Fall Fun....

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

Can't believe this was October 29th.

But, man oh man, the kids loved it. Especially Colin. He was practically vibrating with excitement. And he was BEGGING to go out in it. Repeatedly.

Pedal Power!

2011-10-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

After our big birthday bash last Sunday, we skipped nap (it wouldn't have happened anyway) and took our trikes to the park for a spin. AND, look what G did for the first time!

And Colin? Well, he's not allowed on his bike because he won't put the helmet on. So, he pushed his trike everywhere. Grr.

GO GILLIAN!

Birthday Party Report!

2011-10-29T20:54:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday we had a party to celebrate Colin and Gillian's BIG THIRD BIRTHDAY! All of our guests were family, but we still managed to have twenty people over. Well, make that twenty adults. We need some other kids to invite next year! We were very lucky that it turned out to be a lovely fall day; it was dry, sunny, and just warm enough for the hale and hearty to hang out on the deck for a bit! Our house is just a bit small for that many people!

Daddy and I had breakfast treats laid out for our Guests of Honor to open pre-party.

We had gotten them Cinderella and Thomas shirts to match the party "theme"! I think they liked them. G wanted to wear Cinderella at breakfast!

So, with lots of help from Grammy, Papa, GraGra, Uncle D and others, we were all ready for lunch, cake, ice cream, and presents by 11:00! We kept the cakes hidden until party time to surprise the kiddos. Here's Colin's Thomas Carnival Cake (provided by Giant Eagle).

He immediately wanted to "chuff" the Thomas from the cake. He kept asking and asking for it! I made him wait until after we blew out the candles!

GraGra volunteered to make Gillian's cake after I couldn't find any bakeries in town to make a princess doll cake for less than $70. GraGra then roped Aunt Emily into helping her. And in the end, Uncle Stevie and Papa Greg helped too! It was all worth it though; Gillian's eyes just LIT UP when she saw Cinderella!

They did such a fantastic job! We all appreciated it so much!

So we had a yummy lunch.

(This was obviously the Table of Honor!)

Then goofed around a bit.

(That picture of Colin in the presents cracks me up for some reason)

Then it was PRESENT time!

(Those were some GORGEOUS new coats from Leah. Unfortunately, she was out of town for the party!)

Some fun new games from Dickiedoo and Noonie.

A castle tent and princess dress from Uncle D and Aunt Cedes! Huge hit!

Aunt Cedes and I are obviously very excited about the walkietalkies from Uncle Stevie and Aunt Emily. I'm not sure the kids understood them!

Once Colin got his train, he was perfectly content to be done. Thanks GraGra and Papa Greg.

Gillian had to immediately "princess" herself!

We finished up the fun with cake and ice cream! Colin was funny because he couldn't wait for us to finish singing to him before he would blow out the candles. We tried twice. No luck.

Gillian's turn! She was slightly more patient with us!

The kids had so much fun at their party. They enjoyed it from beginning to end. We are so lucky to have such loving and wonderful family to help us celebrate our two BIG kids!

Birthday Treats: What Did I DO?

2011-10-28T06:00:00.002-04:00

The Friday before their birthday, Colin and Gillian were assigned to bring snack for school and they could bring "treats" instead of the usual "healthy" assignment. So a month or so ago, I was looking through my Everyday Food magazine and G spotted a page of chocolate and sprinkle covered cake pops. She wanted them. Colin agreed (goof ball that he is, since he doesn't EAT cake). So I asked them if they wanted them for their school treats. Even though they didn't understand that AT ALL, they agreed.

So, I gathered supplies. And planned. Finally, it was time to assemble! Ok, so I love to bake. And cook. But, my style is pretty simple. I don't do fussy or fancy or decorated. Chocolate chip cookies or brownies are more my style. See what I do for these children? The whole time I was working on them, I was laughing. This was SO not me. I am NOT a Martha!

The results!

(If interested: Store bought pound cake, 1 inch slices, cut with pumpkin cookie cutter, dipped in melted chocolate, and Halloween sprinkles, cool in frig with stick)

We also picked out a barrel of pretzel sticks to go with the cake pops. For Colin. Daddy took the kids and treats to school on Friday since I had to work. So, I didn't get a first hand report on the treats. But Gillian swears she ate one!

Zoo Time!

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks back, Daddy took the day off of work and we headed to the zoo for the day. It was a lovely fall day; about 60 degrees, cloudy, and dry. And a Thursday. All those things added together made for the nicest zoo trip ever. There was NO ONE at the zoo. And the animals were very active.

So were the kids though. C&G were less than enthused about looking at the animals. They were far, far more interested in crawling in and out of the wagon that we rented to haul our lunch and stuff around! Yeah, we won't be doing that again.

Anyway, we got some cool pictures.

Snow leopard.

Colin's favorites....the flamingos!

Some cool ostrich action. Really, this ostrich was STARING us down.

Sadly, MY favorites, the elephants, were kind of disappointing this trip. But we DID measure the kids with a baby elephant!

We got to explore the "Touch a Ray" exhibit a lot more than we usually do, since we weren't wrestling 1000 other kids to pet the rays. It was cool. The rays were a bit too slimy for my taste. But the tunnels were cool.

Oh yeah, then we trapped the kids.

We did let them out....eventually. Oh look, sea otter!

We stopped for a picnic lunch. That's one of my favorite parts of the zoo; you can bring all your food and drink with you and it makes the day so much more affordable. Daddy and G were enjoying cookies!

In the children's section of the zoo, we ran into one of the docents with a screech owl. His name was Crosby. He had a broken wing when someone found in him in the woods. The zoo rescued him and brought him back to health, but his wing won't allow him to take care of himself, so he stays at the zoo. We liked him!

We looped our way back through the zoo to try to catch the tigers playing. And they were! The zoo has three tiger cubs that are 13 months old. They are HUGE and look just like adults, but they can get quite spunky! We caught two of them in the water, wrestling over a stick! So funny!

Then they hopped out of the water and sprinted to the looking glass window.

(That's Colin's head right there next to the tiger!)

So incredibly beautiful.

We also caught the leopard next to his/her glass too. We love big cats. It was an incredible way to see them!

On our way out we had to pass back through the tunnel. Colin had been telling us for weeks that the next time we went to the zoo, we had to get a picture of the tunnel. He likes it. So we got a picture!

Great day!

Three.

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday, Gillian Jane! You're three now! Daddy and I hope you love being three. We love seeing you pretend to be a princess or a baby horse or Ruby or any number of other things! You are so strong and smart and funny. We can't wait to see what's up your (rolled up) sleeve next. You make us so proud.

Happy Birthday, Colin Xavier! Our three year old man! Daddy and I love seeing your grow and become YOU. We love your WOOT WOOTs and your love of everything with wheels! You are so sweet and tender and funny! And smart as a whip! Oh man, we are so excited to see what you show us next!

Fall Fun

2011-10-18T13:19:00.003-04:00

I don't think these pictures need many words. Love a warm, sunny October day with JUST enough leaves to rake into a pile.

Day Out With Thomas!

2011-10-14T06:00:00.004-04:00

And there it is! The elusive family photo with Thomas! Papa Greg tried to get one. Not good. Papa Frank tried to get one. NOT good. So, in the end, I paid $9.99 to the official photographer for a 4 by 6 print. It came last week and it was so worth it. The kids went a little crazy when they saw it hanging on the frig! Thanks, Thomas!

Pumpkin Picking 2011

2011-10-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it's that time again! Time to pick our pumpkins! Yet again this year, we hit up Trax Farms for some gourds and fun! And we were lucky this year to go again with our friends Miss Laura and Mr. Kenny and their lovely kiddos, Ian, Julia, and (new this year) AJ!!!

First up, GIANT PUMPKIN PILES!

Twins times TWO! I always love seeing these four together!

Then the rides opened and Colin saw the train. So, Colin, Gillian, and Julia got tickets for the train. Ian passed on a ride this time.

All Aboard!

Gillian in her olive green shirt dress in this barrel thing makes me think she looks like a WWII female fighter pilot!

Our kids wanted to try the giant slide. They loved it! I was pretty impressed that they climbed and slid all by themselves!

Daddy took them into the petting zoo next since Colin wanted to pet the baby piggy. BUT Daddy made the critical mistake of actually buying food for the animals and they were literally mauled by goats. Very pushy goats. So, no piggy for Colin.

He was placated by the corn bin!

Oh yeah, and Mr. AJ...he showed off his photogenic side. Such a gorgeous baby! And so happy! (Only a little corn went in his mouth...)

And some snuggles with his Daddy! So sweet!

Gorgeous day. Good friends. Fun times. And three perfect pumpkins picked!

Leaf Walk...with no leaves.

2011-10-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

For the past few weeks the kiddos and I have been taking walks in the park for the purpose of "finding leaves." We usually make a loop around the designated "Fitness Walk" paths. The kids like to read the numbers off the fitness signs and climb up, over, and around the benches meant for vaulting, sit ups, and whatnot. It's a nice walk, lots of trees, just about the right length, and plenty of dogs to admire and pet (Colin actually pet THREE dogs last week. That's a breakthrough.)

So, off we go! Notice the bags SPECIFICALLY brought to carry pretty, pretty leaves.

See, the leaves are just starting to get nice and pretty!

Lots of running!

We jumped off the rock sculpture, as usual.

We found some HUGE fungi to check out too. Lots of rain last week.

Gillian decided to climb up on a post and tell a story. She never got much beyond "Once Upon a Time" but it was quite cute anyway!

Lots of fun right? Yes, it was. But what was in the bags when we got back in the car? Each bag held one very battered and bruised walnut. That's it. No pretty leaves. AT ALL. Next time, I'm taking a bag for ME.

Science Center Sunday

2011-10-09T14:01:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe sitting here on this lovely 80 degree day, but last Sunday it was 45 degrees and raining buckets on us. We really wanted to go to the zoo last weekend, but an indoor activity was a much wiser choice! So, we settled on the Carnegie Science Center as our alternative! Aunt Cedes and Uncle D decided to join us, so even more fun! I wasn't too sure how much of the museum would be appropriate for nearly-3-year-olds, but they enjoyed it a lot. I can see them enjoying it MORE in 3 or 4 more years, but it there was certainly enough fun stuff to keep them entertained.

We started our visit in the "air" exhibit where you could make parachutes, fly rockets, bang air cannons, and other fun stuff. Uncle D was explaining a few things to Colin. I love how Colin looks like he's intently thinking about things, but really, I think he was picking his chapped lips!

Off to fly some rockets! This was really a favorite with both kids; they came back two or three times to fly them.

Next up was the robot exhibit. It ended up being Daddy's favorite exhibit, but I think the kids will like it more in a few years. They did check out these guys:

They have a little digital planetarium inside the Science Center and we were just in time for a 15 minute show about the stars in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood! Sadly, the kids have no idea who Mr. Rogers is; our PBS channel only airs his show maybe once a week. But, they liked the trolley and the characters and the MOON! Waiting for the show to start:

They did well sitting and watching, but I think we'll wait a while before we attempt a feature length film in the theater!

Next up was the Ocean and fish exhibit; basically it was a few big aquariums and a pretend submarine to explore! That was fun. Although, there wasn't a Nemo fish, so that was disappointing. We did find Dori though.

The next floor up was the "exploration" zone. It was a bunch of hands-on exhibits where the kids could build houses and "earthquake" them or pretend to be a weatherman or there was lots of water play! In the "Junior Explorer" section they had a bunch of machines set up to transport balls to the top of a shed thing and then pour them back down on the kids. That was a lot of fun! We spent a lot of time doing that! (Oh, and G liked the water play, which necessitated a wardrobe change!)

The Earthquake table!

Ball Machine!

After lunch, we headed over the "SportsWorks" portion of the museum. It has a health, fitness, and activity focus, but most of it was too old for our kids. Gillian had other ideas though. She wanted to do it ALL. Like the Human Yoyo!

Up she goes! She really did a nice job with this. She loves to hang on stuff, like monkeybars and chin up bars.

Ok, Mommy had to take a turn too.

So fun. But I admit, I was sore for 3 days afterwards. So old. So out of shape.

Then, Gillian spied the trampoline. And not just a plain ol' trampoline. A trampoline with a harness so you can do FLIPS. She had to do it. I warned her the line was very long, but she didn't mind. And, that girl, she sat in line without making a peep for at least 30 minutes. (Colin was done by this point and went back to look at the robots with Uncle D and Aunt Cedes). When Gillian decided she wants something, she is going to DO IT. And nothing will get in her way. Someday that will come in handy. (Right?) Anyway, when it was FINALLY her turn, she did great!!!

She didn't attempt any flips. But that's ok. Daddy and I were so proud of her patience and her bravery!

We caught back up with Cedes, D, and Colin at the submarine and went through the "Junior Explorer" stuff again. Gillian wanted to play "Operation":

Oh, and to climb all over Uncle D.

All in all a fun way to spend a rainy Sunday. I'm sure we'll be back! Gillian wants to trampoline again!!!

Boy vs. Girl

2011-09-30T12:00:00.001-04:00

The craziness at our house today just illustrates the basic difference between BOY 3 year old and GIRL 3 year old. (Well, almost 3 year olds)

I've been encouraging Colin to be more independent with putting his clothes on. So, after nap, he took his diaper off and got on the potty and did his thing. I left the bathroom for a minute and told him to get his undies and pants back on and wash his hands. I came back a minute later and HOORAY he was all dressed! Well, that went better than I thought it would! He looked correctly assembled, so I left it and we moved on. I come downstairs a few minutes later, look at him, and HEY WAIT! Your underwear are coming out the bottom of your pants! It's ZOOLANDER! Apparently he had just gotten the pants on correctly and forgot the undies. Sigh.

Even better....he got the undies put on, but the pants put on backwards TWICE. I got that straightened out. We ran some errands, played on the playground, and made dinner. In the middle of dinner Colin had to go to the potty, so I get up to make sure the seat is set up for him. And LOW AND BEHOLD, the kid has had his underwear on BACKWARDS since naptime. I give up. I just had to laugh.

Now, Gillian? In this same time period, she has gotten her diaper off, her undies on, her princess dress on, accessorized with wand, purse, bracelet, and HIGH HEELED SHOES. Changed in to her real clothes to run errands, INCLUDING SOCKS AND SHOES, all on her own. Only thing I did was button the back of her shirt.

Sigh.

September Funnies

2011-09-29T12:00:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to keep track of some of the funny stuff the kiddos say and I thought I'd write down a few before the end of the month! (seriously, how is it the end of September already?)

We checked the book "Olivia" out of the library a few weeks ago. I think it spoke to Gillian. Olivia and G have quite a bit in common. Anyway, we were playing out in the yard one morning and I was sitting in the sun in a chair and G looked at me and said, "Are you basking in the sun, Mommy?" Umm, yes Olivia I AM!

September brought us a lot of "back to school" commercials, especially the Mini Wheat commercials where the Wheats tell us that they "Keep Kids Full and Focused!" We eat Mini Wheats pretty often (well G and I do) and after watching those commercials for a few weeks, I'd hear the kids at breakfast saying "KEEPS 'EM FOCUSED!!!" Over and over. If only I could get the kids to FOCUS when it's time to leave the house!

Daddy recorded "A Bug's Life" a while ago for the kiddos. I wasn't there the first time they watched it, either that or I was busy around the house. But soon after watching it, the kids came up with this game where they piled all the living room pillows between the couch and the coffee table and jumped off into the pillows while shouting. It took about 20 repetitions of "OOOSEY DOOOSING, COLIN!" and "OOOSEY DOOOSING, GILLIAN!" for me to realize they were saying "Introducing, Colin/Gillian!" I think the circus bugs at the beginning of the movie say something like that while they are performing. Anyway, the OOOSEY DOOOSINGs stuck around for quite a while. Made me laugh every time!

Colin has become quite the negotiator. He thinks. If I tell him 3 more minutes or only 2 M&Ms or 2 more turns, he offers me an alternative that HE wants. However, his quantity skills aren't quite up to snuff yet. So if I say, "3 more minutes, Buddy." He says, "NO, TWO MORE!" Umm, ok. Or if I offer him four M&M, he'll yell, "NO THREE!" Sure thing, Mister. Not sure how long it will take for his skills to improve, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

Thomas! We Love You!

2011-09-26T20:24:00.019-04:00

This past weekend we had the most fun ever. At least according to C&G! On Saturday we traveled to Lancaster to visit none other than Thomas the Train!!! WOOOT WOOOT! Thomas visits the Strasburg Railroad a few times a year and we have been planning on seeing him for MONTHS!

Saturday morning we were all packed up and out the door right after breakfast! C&G are such good travelers! They have lots of practice traveling back and forth to the Land of Grandmas which is about a 2 1/2 hour trip. They do really well on that trip with no "DVD entertainment" but on longer trips we set up their DVD player. Given all of this, Daddy and I found it pretty funny that G started asking for a "show" approximately 5 seconds after pulling out of the driveway. We convinced her to make it another 2 1/2 hours before we turned it on for her!

We met up with GraGra, Papa Greg, Grammy, and Papa Frank near our hotel for lunch. Gillian pulled yet another graceful move, tripped, and fell into the rung of a chair. She managed to give herself a horizontal bruise on her forehead to match the vertical one on her cheek! That girl!

Anyway, we headed to the hotel and while Daddy and Papa Frank went off to visit a train museum, GraGra, Grammy, and I took the kids for a swim in the hotel pool! (No pictures of this since Daddy took the camera to museum with him!) Colin loved, loved, loved jumping off side into awaiting arms. And G was so excited to find the 3 feet deep hot tub to swim in. It's the only place she's ever found to swim that doesn't make her shiver!

Photo of the train museum!

We all had a very nice dinner at a local microbrewery in downtown Lancaster. Funny story: we had been trying to decide between MicroBrewery A and MicroBrewery B before we left. We settled on Microbrewery A and I (thought I had) made reservations there. We walk in late to Microbrewery A and they look confused but are getting us a table. Meanwhile, my phone rings! It's Microbrewery B asking where we are and are we coming! Ummmmm, no. Seems I called the wrong brewery to make reservations! I felt badly, but the place where we were actually seated us very quickly and it was the place we actually wanted to be! (Can I still blame Mommy brain 3 years later?) Anyway, it was a yummy meal and the kids were FABULOUS! Especially considering they only had a brief lay-down in the afternoon, not a real nap!

After dinner we gave the kids a bath in our VERY large, whirlpool style tub. They thought that was awesomely cool. It was like another swimming pool! Then we settled them down in their air mattresses for their first official night's sleep in a hotel. They actually were pretty excited about the whole hotel thing. They kept asking question after question about what a hotel was and how it worked and where it was and why were we staying there. They kept calling the hallways "tunnels" and Colin asked us why there were all those DOORS! GraGra and Papa Greg had a room with a separate bedroom, as did Daddy and I, so we hosted the kiddos. Colin stayed with Papa Greg (of course) and Gillian chose to stay with Daddy and I! I think they were out like lights!

Bright and early on Sunday morning we were up and raring to go! We had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and C&G impressed some random strangers with their behavior. It's always so nice when strangers compliment your kids' good behavior! Then we were off to Thomas!!!

Due to all the recent rain, the railroad had off-site parking and had school buses to bring people into the station! I'm not sure if they realized that to my kids, riding a real, live school bus was just about as cool as riding Thomas! Then, we were there!

And look! Trevor the Traction Engine!

And there he is! THOMAS!!!

He was actually really, really cool! A real working steam engine that looked exactly like our best bud Thomas!

There were lots of tents set up and other attractions that came with our train ride ticket!

Colin really enjoyed his day at Thomas, but we think parts of the day were too loud or overwhelming for him. Or he didn't sleep well at all the night before; he just wasn't as peppy or as excited as we thought he would be. Gillian was though! However, C seems to have enjoyed himself since he's been talking about it nonstop since we got in the car to come home!

We picked one of the open cars to ride in when it was our turn to ride on Thomas.

The ride never really picked up a whole lot of speed and Thomas pushed us one way down the track then pulled us back the same way! It only took about 15-20 minutes, but the kids loved it!

(See that leg that C has his hand on? That's me. Apparently I am not in ANY of the pictures from the weekend)

After our train ride we tried out a number of the other attractions at the train station! Colin's favorite was the cranky cars!

(Oh hey, those are my feet! Another picture of me!)

They had a miniature steam engine that we rode too. It was pretty cool. The young man who was running it would get off after each (short) ride and feed it some coal or some water or oil it! But, Daddy really wanted to do the pumper car! So did Papa Frank! So, off they went!

We stopped for a bit to watch Thomas chuff in and out of the station and listen to him chug, chug, chug. And whistle!

See all his adoring fans?

This is one of the regular steam engines that always resides at Strasburg. They have dinner theater and wine & cheese rides, and all sorts of fun. Gillian keeps pretending she's this engine now!

After checking out all the fun and picking out Thomas balloons from Grammy, we hit the road. Well, hit the school bus back to our car, then hit the road! We grabbed a quick lunch, kissed the grandparents, and made for home! After two very busy days and not enough sleep, I was hoping the kids would zonk out for at least half and hour or so. But, no such luck. Those two TALKED the entire 4 1/2 hour trip back home. Without watching tv. They were so good. And so chatty!

Daddy and I were so proud of our kiddos; they were so well behaved all weekend and so happy and so eager to do what was asked of them. C&G obviously enjoyed exploring every new thing they came across and they were just darn pleasant to travel with. It was a fantastic weekend, and we can't wait for more adventures!

Firehouse Fun!

2011-09-23T20:00:00.003-04:00

One of Colin's current favorite things is fire engines (and police cars and ambulances). He loves to see them on the road, especially if they have their sirens on. He MUST know what the emergency is and where it is and if it's over yet. (We're thinking he needs a scanner) As we were driving around the neighborhood last week, I noticed a sign on the local firehouse for a Sunday Open House. Perfect!!!

So post-nap and post-Steeler game last Sunday, we hit up the Fire House Open House for some fun! Daddy and I decided it was our favorite kind of outing - close by, free, and outside in gorgeous weather! The kids were VERY impressed with the big ladder truck!

Colin decided he wanted to try out the hose. He was pretty good! He knocked those fires down pretty darn quickly!

So proud of himself!

G declined a turn, but she claimed the hat that Colin had earned! No skin off C's nose, he's not a hat man.

Gillian wanted a balloon. REALLY wanted a balloon. We couldn't do anything else until we made our way to the back of the fire house and got a balloon. THEN we could go back out and check out the fire trucks!

Such a happy boy!

It was a nice afternoon! The kids really enjoyed playing in the fire trucks (until C accidentally set off an oxygen meter in the fire truck and it freaked him out). The fire chief invited us to come see their drills on Monday evenings too! Oh boy!

Mighty TV Powers!

2011-09-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

For the longest time Colin and Gillian only wanted Max and Ruby when it was time for a little tv. Nothing else. But, Daddy begged and pleaded that they PLEASE find something else to watch. He was tired of C&G imitating Max's one word phrases over and over and over. So we were in search of a new "it" show. I recorded a few "Super Whys," "Word Worlds," and "Team UmiZoomis." After some trial runs, the kids settled on UmiZumi as the NEW FAVORITE SHOW EVER! Woo hoo!

I have to admit, I am impressed with the things they kiddos have learned from the Umiz. The focus of the show is teaching pre-math skills. So they work on a lot of counting and quantity concepts, but also on learning shapes and patterning. And, boy, are we obsessed with patterning now, or what!

C&G love the Umiz so much that we have to play Umiz quite a bit when the tv is off! For those of you who don't live in toddler world, Team UmiZoomi is made up of a brother/sister team of Geo and Milli and their super handy robot, Bot. Apparently, Milli is the absolute favorite of C&G. They BOTH usually pretend to be Milli and I have to be Bot. Bot has extendable arms, so that's handy for Mommy. Poor Geo though, no love here!

I know that tv isn't great for growing brains, especially Mr. Sponge Bob apparently. But, honestly, sometimes a Mommy (or Daddy) just needs 20 minutes to cook a meal, start some laundry, or make a phone call! Or, heck, regain sanity. So, as long as I feel like my kids are LEARNING something (and they obviously are), we'll continue to enjoy a little tube time!

Firetruck Jammies

2011-09-18T14:45:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we had to run into Kohls to return something. It was a rainy morning and we were looking to kill some time. I don't usually take the kids into stores like that; when they were little it was just to hard to do and when they got bigger it was just easier to leave them with Daddy while I ran errands! So, anyway, they were very, VERY impressed with Kohls. They liked the mannequins all dressed up and they LOVED the beds made up with pretty bedspreads.

We returned our stuff and then we walked over to the kids' clothing. I wanted to look at pajamas since I knew we would be needing warmer PJs soon! C&G were ALL over that! They really got into looking at the different kinds of PJs and telling me which ones they wanted! I think they both would have left with four pairs if I had let them! I DID let them each pick out one pair. Gillian picked a pink night gown with candy canes and fairies on it. And Colin went crazy over a pair of fire truck pajamas!

When it cooled down last week, I new C would be all excited to try out his new, fancy pajamas! And he WAS! He told us, "I look good in this." And, "I so comfy." What a riot.

Well, he DID look good!

And loving!

(And now I'm remembering that G's new nightgown is still in her bin under her bed. Need to get that washed for her so she can wear it!)

You Say JoePa......

2011-09-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

I say Terno!

First Day of School!

2011-09-13T20:23:00.002-04:00

Last Friday the kiddos had their first day of preschool! Well, ok, so it was an hour long. And Daddy and I stayed the whole time. But this week they go by themselves. For another hour. They start out slowly!

Anyway, C&G are going to a one day a week, 2 year old class at a local church for this school year. Their teacher is Miss Heather, and her helper is Miss Kim. They both seem very nice. They will have 5 other kids in the class besides them, 1 girl and 4 boys. I have a small fear that Gillian will be Queen Bee by Halloween!

So on our first official day of school we had to take some pictures! G was making some super funny faces that morning!

Some Brother-Sister Love!

And G had to show off her backpack (or packpack as the kids call them).

Colin had a little hangnail booboo that morning that he made Daddy take a picture of.

Then we made the kiddos get some obligatory Mommy and Daddy pictures!

We are hoping for a great school year!

Labor Day Catch-up!

2011-09-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Little behind lately! We've been busy and I've been unmotivated blog-wise. Sigh.

We spent a nice, busy, quick weekend up north for Labor Day, just Saturday to Monday this year. But it was nice to see all our family and relax a bit. We spent most of the day on Saturday trying to stay cool (very humid and warm) and catching up with Uncle Willis, Leah, Uncle Stevie, and Aunt Emily. The Uncles (and GraGra) cooked up a feast and Great-Grandma made us some homemade peach ice cream. It was all delicious and wonderful. And not a single picture was taken of it! Daddy did take some pictures in the afternoon while the kids forced him outside to play in the heat for a while. Thanks for taking one for the team, Daddy!

Still skeptical, as always.

How they have that much energy when it's that hot, I'll never know.

Apparently, G found GraGra's tape measure and went off to measure the corn. Not with her knee this time.

Hopefully it was measuring "Nearly Ripe."

Sunday morning we took one last dip in Dickiedoo's pool before he closed it up for the season. Gillian did really, really well in her life jacket. She paddled all over by herself and even jumped off the top of the ladder into the water with no one to catch her! She was quite proud! Again, no pictures though!

Sunday evening we went over to Grammy and Papa Frank's for dinner with the Keisters (minus Jessie Bean). The kids had fun running all over, playing in what leaves had already turned and fallen, and enjoying the wind kicked up by a (lovely) cold front!

Colin wants to have a "Leaf Picnic" in the worst way!

The Underbrella was again requested!

And Papa gives great airplane rides!

On Monday morning we took a quick visit to see the newest baby donkey. It was pouring though and since we were all huddled in the barn, we didn't get any pictures of him. Needless to say, he was QUITE adorable and funny!

Another fun weekend to "end" our summer!

Kex, Eleventeen, and Hemptagons

2011-09-10T14:00:00.004-04:00

These things all exist at our house. Do they exist in yours'?

Kex is a letter, OF COURSE. The long elusive 27th letter. Most often thought of as a cross between K and X. No one can quite draw a picture of it though.

Eleventeen is that tricky number after twelve, but can also come four more times before twenty. Perhaps it's like Elevensies to a Hobbit?

Now, a Hemptagon is something like a hexagon and something like an octagon. But not.

When we figure these things out, we'll let you know.

Jump......Jump......Jump

2011-08-31T21:30:00.003-04:00

Thanks to my kids for being frogs. RIB-BIT. And thanks to Daddy for the pictures.

Ewwww. Too Stinky.

2011-08-29T19:53:00.003-04:00

This has been the summer of "Too Stinky." That's what the kids say to make each other giggle (every.single.time) or what they say when they don't like or don't want something. Occasionally with an EWWWWWW preceding it.

"Gillian, do you want a waffle?"
"TOOOO STINKY!"

"Colin, do you need to go potty?"
"TOOOO STINKY!"

"Do you guys want peaches for breakfast?"
"EWWWWWW! TOOOOOOO STINKY!"

Apparently it's a universal answer. And a universal insult. Pretty handy.

Boogers.

Peaches!

2011-08-29T08:50:00.002-04:00

Every August my Grandpa drives to Chambersburg, PA and picks up a huge truck load of peaches to share with family and neighbors. They are DELICIOUS. And usually a really good bargain (given that a quart of peaches at our Farmer's Market sells for $5). In the past I've ordered a 1/2 bushel for our family, but this summer I ordered us a whole bushel. And they arrived just as we were leaving for Niagara Falls. I was afraid I'd come home to a bushel of fuzzy peaches, but, luckily, they were just about perfect when we made it back! So, we've been working our way through the peaches. Eating some, making freezer jam, freezing lots, and baking some yummy stuff. I sliced the last of them yesterday! Phew, made it! And not a single fuzzy one!

The kids enjoyed them too!

Average Morning

2011-08-24T20:19:00.010-04:00

I thought I finally take the camera along on Monday morning to document our usual summer morning fun activities. I've mentioned that we spend a lot of time in the county park, and Monday was no different! We decided to take some bread over to the ducks and see what our buddy the peacock was up to.

This was our first trip to the duck pond without a second set of adult hands; previously I didn't trust the kids with all the abundant goose poop to brave it alone. But, we did well this time. Phew.

See? Fowl!

And bread throwing!

Gillian likes to let the geese get very close to her. Too close for MY comfort, but she likes it. Daddy says that last time we went the geese were eating out of her hand. I did NOT see that.

Colin was more interested in seeing his friend Mr. Peacock.

Unfortunately, the peacock wasn't interested in showing off his tail on Monday. He did talk to us quite a bit though. I think he was in a tizzy because he and the peahen had AN EGG!

Obviously, the no one was sitting on the egg, so I doubt they will make any progress with it, but cool, nonetheless.

After our visit with the birds, we headed down the hill to the playground that we frequent the most (note: not the kids' FAVORITE playground, but the one I make us go to most often). It was a beautiful, beautiful day on Monday and I would have stayed outside forever, but for some reason the kids only wanted to play for about 30 minutes. It was kind of sad!

We had some fun anyway! Climbing:

Sliding:

More climbing:

Some swinging (and silliness):

Oh yeah, and selling ice cream:

There is just something about that little metal half window that makes kids want to sell ice cream from it. C&G just started doing it one time in early spring and like to sell a cone or two every visit. And I've seen other 3,4,5 year olds walk up and do the same thing, without seeing anyone else do it! Not sure if that's what the playground designers intended, but they've set up some nice pretend play areas too!

So, anyway, that's a view at a typical summer morning for us. Lots and lots of outdoor play and exploring!

Summer Shoes

2011-08-24T08:50:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to document G's summer time feet. I picked up these sandals in late spring and Gillian immediately loved them! They are the ONLY shoes she will wear this summer; it's barefeet or rainbow sandals. That's it. I think she's worn her swim shoes 2 or 3 times, but that's it. The rainbow sandals have been through wet, mud, mulch, dirt, and, yes, pee (several times). I usually pass along G's shoes to someone else. Not so much with this pair.

Oh, and the bright pink, chipped, dirty toenails are par for the course too. A total reminder of all our summer fun.

Get Away!

2011-08-21T20:29:00.007-04:00

Last weekend Daddy and I took an opportunity to take a little kid-free get away! The timing was great, as we had just celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary on August 11th. Grammy Lynn was beyond happy to volunteer to run "Camp Grammy" and keep the kiddos for a few days. Perfect, right?

So, last Saturday we packed up and first drove north to deliver the kids to Grammy and Papa Frank. The whole morning, Colin kept telling me that "NO!" he did not want to stay at Grammy's and he didn't want us to go away. Ummm. Ok. I was really, really hoping he wouldn't mind when we left once he was ACTUALLY at Grammy's house! And, thankfully, that is what happened. Once they saw the baby apple trees and their Grammy toys and all their favorite stuff, they could not have cared less that Daddy and I left! Phew.

That meant Daddy and I were free to head MORE north to Erie for our first stop! My best friend from high school was getting married on a lovely spot just off the shore of Lake Erie!

The lovely bride!

That's not a great picture of her dress; it was gorgeous and I loved it!

And a BIG hug!

It was a pretty wedding and nice to spend some grow-up time hanging out with Matt and Rachel, who were also guests! After the wedding we had a nice drive through the local grapevine fields to our hotel. The next morning we were up and at 'em and headed EVEN MORE NORTH!

Our destination? Can you tell?

That's Niagara Falls! The American side looking across to Canada, in fact. I had never been there before and Michael hadn't been there since he was 12 or so. It was a reasonable drive and we thought, WHY NOT? It's supposed to be romantic, right?

On Sunday we drove up to the American side of the falls, through a horrible storm, thinking that it was going to rain cats and dogs all day and we wouldn't be able to do anything! Fortunately, the storms stayed south of the Falls, and besides a few sprinkles, it was just cloudy all day. Phew. I really didn't want to have to spend all day inside the casino! So, we hung out on the American side most of the day. They have a pretty nice state park with multiple "attractions" to explore.

Mostly we just stared at the falls. And I got anxious. I was seriously freaked OUT by all that water and the POWER it had. I just kept imaging people/things being swept OVER. It made my stomach drop. We saw one family that had walked out on a rock jutting out into the river above the falls and were busy taking pictures and their kids (probably 8-10 years old) were hopping about 4 feet from the rushing water. Ack. So much anxiety. I have issues.

But anyway, the views were pretty, the Falls impressive, and I didn't have to hold any youngsters back from the edge, so we enjoyed our day! Some of our Sunday pictures:

River headed towards the Falls:

Bridal Veil Fall and "Cave of the Winds" attraction (that we did NOT do because I don't do caves....more anxiety there):

American Falls and Observation Deck (that we did NOT do because I wasn't paying $$$ for the view):

Happy people!

After a yummy lunch in a, thankfully, non-touristy cafe we decided to head over to the Niagara Aquarium. We saw this handsome guy and a few funny sea lions, but not too much else.

It was a pretty sad aquarium, definitely NOT worth the $10 per person admission! It did make us quite thankful for our lovely PPG Aquarium here in Pittsburgh.

After our thorough exploration of the American Niagara Falls, we headed across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada! We were a bit early to check into the Bed and Breakfast where we were staying and my feet were quite tired, so we took a driving tour of the Canadian side and got our bearings. Finally though, we checked in, took a quick snooze (AHHHHH) and grabbed some dinner! This child-free travel has some perks!

On Monday morning we decided to play dedicated tourist and check out "The Maid of the Mist." Like this:

They give you these:

The views from the boat were just awesome! This is the American Falls again. Those rocks tumbled down in two gigantic slides in the first half of the last century.

Bridal Veil Falls again.

The Canadian Falls:

"The Maid of the Mist" was very much worth the time! Awesome views and you got such a sense of the power in all that water! And, actually, we didn't get wet at all!

After our boat ride we explored the views on the Canadian side. And I will say, half of the fun of exploring the falls was the people watching. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before, but there was a very, very large international flavor to the tourists. We heard multiple Asian and Indian languages, French, German, and several accented variations of English. It was pretty cool. But anyway, more pictures!

(Sadly, the evening before I took this picture a young Japanese tourist was climbing the railing right next to where I took this picture, she fell in, and was swept over the falls.)

For lunch on Monday we met up with an old friend of ours' from high school, Deb. She and her husband were having their own get away in Niagara to celebrate their 5th anniversary! It was pretty funny to meet up with them in Canada since we live in PA and they live in North Carolina! It was nice to visit with them and catch up, and while we ate lunch together, our kids were playing together back at Camp Grammy! They had fun too!

After lunch we took a nice drive up the river to a little town on Lake Ontario called Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was very historic and quaint. Lots of little shops, inns, and restaurants. It was fun to explore and catch a look at Lake Ontario. We had left the camera in the car though, after Michael stopped to take a picture of this:

That's a hydroelectric dam. I think he would have preferred spending the afternoon touring the power plant!

That evening we had a really nice dinner at a steakhouse inside the Falls View Casino that really did have a (slight) view of the Falls. We had a lovely waitress who, while chatting with us after dinner, had a really cool Canadian accent. She talked hockey and said "eh." It was awesome. After dinner we took one last stroll along the Falls and took some shots of the Falls all lit up (somehow it cracks me up that people shine giant colored lights on this huge, amazing natural wonder, I mean, do they think they can do better than Mother Nature?):

On Tuesday morning we were up and ready for breakfast, as directed, at 8:30. We realize we were the only guests that morning, but still....nothing is ready in the dining room. No set table, no coffee waiting. Nothing. Michael knocked on the kitchen door...nothing. Finally we call the number for the house where the owners live (a block or so away) and the wife says, "He (her husband) should be there!" And she came right down to check it out. Turns out her hubby had tied one on the night before and sound asleep, hung over. Nice. I felt pretty badly for the lady. Michael and I are pretty sure this wasn't a one time occurrence for them. Anyway, she was apologetic and asks us what we wanted to do. She offered to cook up some breakfast, but it would take a while. But, really, I was ready to head home to my kids. So they gave us a discount on our stay and we stopped for famous Canadian doughnuts for breakfast. Sigh. At least it was a memorable send off!

So, home we drove! Well, first we stopped at Camp Grammy to collect our lovely little ones! We were all quite happy to see each other! Then we went home! It was a great getaway! So appreciated and needed! From what I hear, the kiddos had a great time without us, so maybe we'll get to repeat it sometime!

Fancy!

2011-08-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

GraGra and Papa Greg kindly gave Daddy a plastic flamingo for his birthday (as a gag gift)! And, since the kids are wild for flamingos, we were sure to put it in our back yard. Where the only people who can see it are us!! Anyway, the kids told me the flamingo was a girl and we settled on her name as Fancy.

Yep, Fancy. Middle name: Classy.

Me, I Want a Hula Hoop!

2011-08-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

Gillian has been wanting a hula hoop for a while now. Ruby, of Max and Ruby fame, uses one. So, hence, Gillian wants one. Daddy and I made her earn it, because we are mean, horrible parents. She had to earn her hula hoop by following the nap and bedtime guideline of "Go Straight To Sleep." When she finally earned her hoop, she was pretty darn happy.

So, she has been trying to learn how to use the hoop. Pretty unsuccessfully. And the rest of us have been taking a turn or two at it as well! It was pretty amusing. And unsuccessful.

And, once again, Colin is talking through Gillian's video!

Sunday Snuggle and Snack

2011-08-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

Fair Fun

2011-08-08T14:35:00.002-04:00

Saturday night we took the kids down to the St. Joan of Arc's church festival for some fun. We've taken the kids the last two summers too. See here for 2009. And apparently 2010 didn't make the blog, but we did go! So, a nice summer tradition.

We decided to eat dinner before we went just to keep life simple. GraGra and Papa Greg had come down to spend the day with us, so we had an entourage. And, Uncle D met us at the fair. Aunt Cedes was working, so we just had to miss her. We also forgot our camera (SHOCKING, I tell you!), so Daddy took these with his (non-iPhone) phone.

The kids immediately wanted to ride. They've got the hang of this now!

See Uncle D in the background? He's with us, not some creepy lurker!

Colin was intensely steering. He was quite serious about his fire truck.

Their first solo carousel ride. And it went FAST. Daddy kept telling me to stop waving at them because he didn't want them to let go and wave back! Note G's outfit of fancy floral dress with matching plastic link bracelet. She picked that out herself.

Gillian was totally bored with this ride. Either that or she was frightened by that scary pink bear in the back.

We also rode the ferris wheel. Colin rode with Daddy and Gillian rode with me. The kids loved it. Daddy and I did not. We both just kept thinking, "How many times is this ride set up and taken down in a summer...." Anyway, we survived. And the view was cool, if you didn't think about it!

We all had a lemonade and a funnel cake, along with some people watching. Colin was NOT pleased when we told him it was time to go home. He wanted to ride more. C&G managed to con Papa Greg into one more ride. And they chose the bounce house. I knew that wasn't a good idea. We never have much luck with those. And, yep, 15 seconds of bounce, and they were done. Thanks anyway, Papa.

So, a quick, fun evening of cheating death on carnival rides. A good summer tradition.

Moo and Splash!

2011-08-07T13:54:00.005-04:00

Last Thursday Colin, Gillian, and I met my bookclub friend, Jenn, and her kiddos, Jack and Katie, at a local park. I had been wanting to check out this park all summer; they have a working exhibition farm and then a small spray park to play in. So, lots of fun for the morning.

First we checked out the barns and animals. Colin was so excited to see a barn full of hay. Huh. His great-grandpa could use his help with hay, I bet! We also saw some turkeys, rabbits, cows, goats, horses, pigs, and chickens!

Gobble. Gobble.

Babies!

The pigs were quite tired. And hot, I think.

I think the chickens were our favorites though. And that's saying somethings, since I'm not fond of birds in general! The farm had several different breeds, some with crazy feathers on their heads, some with feather feet, and all sorts of colors and patterns. And several very noisy roosters!

Colin just stood and laughed and laughed at them!

Colin and Gillian had fun talking with Jack and Katie. We don't spend much, or ummm, ANY time with bigger kids. And Jack and Katie were so sweet. Jack asked me what grade C&G were going into! By the end of the day, Jack was showing Colin how to twist the chains up on a swing and twirl. And Gillian told me she loved Katie and that Katie was her good friend. Ok then.

After we exhausted our farm tour, we made our way over to the splash park. It wasn't too busy at that point and it was getting very warm! Colin lit up like a Christmas tree and jumped right in!

(Some of these pictures are out of focus. I had the point and shoot camera with me and the sun was so bright, you couldn't see the screen on the back, so I had no idea what was in focus and what wasn't!)

Colin just loved, loved, loved this place. He splashed and ran and jumped and splashed some more. Happy, wet boy!

Gillian was less sure about this whole thing. Which is unusual for their typical personalities! She was just a bit nervous and wanted me to go in with her. I hadn't worn my suit, but I managed to help her walk through some of the sprinkles without getting soaked. She avoided a couple of the "stronger" sprinklers the entire day, but I think she ended up having some fun.

And some together time!

The spray park had a farm theme too, so a pig picture!

We had packed a picnic lunch, and I was surprised by how well C&G sat and ate. In fact Gillian ate more at the park than she did in the previous (and following) three days put together. Good to know. After lunch, a huge bus of daycare/camp kids pulled up, so we were happy to hit the road. It was a nice morning to play and talk with another mom! We definitely have this place on our list to visit again!

Wave Pool!

2011-08-04T19:50:00.002-04:00

Hot on the heals of our wave pool adventure at Idlewild, we decided to take the kids to the South Park Wave Pool that is, you know, 3 minutes from our house. We had actually never been there, but it was hot, we needed something to do, and the kids like to get wet. So after naptime on Sunday, we headed up over the hill for some fun.

Unlike the amusement park pool where life jackets were required, at this pool life jackets were forbidden. Hmmmm. Ok. Thankfully it was a zero entry pool, so the kids could wade and splash all they wanted. Daddy showed them how to pull themselves along on their arms while they floated and kicked their feet. They liked that. They were not so keen on the waves this time. I think they were just too much without the security of the life jacket. C&G were also SHIVERING after about 5 minutes in the water, even though it was 88 degrees. So, we made several runs to the towels to "snuggle" and warm up.

We were only there for maybe 90 minutes, but it was a fun, new adventure. Next time Gillian wants to rent one of the rafts they have there though. Oh boy.

Experiment

2011-08-03T13:23:00.004-04:00

Last week I took the kids to the park one morning. We go to the park 3, sometimes 4, mornings a week when it's nice. Most of the time we go to one of the playgrounds, but this time we went for a walk. We walked past the duck pond and gazebo, then over the little foot bridge, and down to this (what I assume is) rock art installation. The kids like to look under the foot bridge and climb up the rocks and jump off. They are really into jumping off of things lately. Then we walked further down the hill and used the swings on one of the little playgrounds.

After much convincing and some screaming on Gillian's part, we headed back to the car. On the way back over the foot bridge, we found some Queen Anne's Lace and I remembered a friend's recent face.book post about dyeing flowers with her daughters. So, we picked some, and Gillian was quite pleased to carry it to the car for us (thankfully, it distracted her from screaming). When we got home, we filled three juice glasses with water. Colin picked red dye, Gillian picked blue, and I picked green. After about 24 hours, we had these:

The colors got much darker and intense over the next two days, but I didn't take any more pictures! The kids enjoyed seeing them turn colors and we talked about how and why that happened. So, all in all, our first science experiment went very well!

Wrestlemania!

2011-07-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

We joined Uncle Willis and Leah for a delicious dinner at their place last weekend. Uncle Willis was entertaining Colin and Gillian with his wrestling ring. I think it was a hit!

Special guest appearance by Thomas.

Riding the E.A.C, Dude.

2011-07-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is What Summer Looks Like

2011-07-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

An Amusing Day!

2011-07-27T14:39:00.008-04:00

Last Friday, which was I swear the hottest day on the earth, ever, we took the kiddos to Idlewild for the first time! It was also Daddy's birthday. We had our trip planned for about a month and Daddy had taken the day off of work, as had GraGra and Papa Greg. So, when the day loomed and it was to be about 95 degrees with 100% humidity, I still felt badly about rescheduling the day, so off we went. To sweat. A lot.

When we arrived at 10:30, the only part of the park that was open was Storybook Forest. Umm, we won't bother with that again. It's a "walk through" attraction from the 1950's (I think), and it looked it. There were all sort of little houses and nursery rhyme objects to walk through and look at, and that was about it. Their little figurines were creeping me out too. The kids seemed indifferent. They liked the little wooden train and the lollipops that Little Red Riding Hood gave them.

Woot woot! (as Colin would say)

Queen of the disgruntled look. She kept wanting to run 20 feet ahead of us and wasn't pleased to have to stay with the adults!

So, by the time we were done with the Storybook Forest, we were soaked in sweat and needing water. It was ridiculous. Onward and upward!

We moved on to the "Jumping Jungle" section of the park. Much more fun! The kids spotting a HUGE ball pit and they were off! Daddy was convinced that Colin would hate it and immediately want OUT. But, no! He loved it! They both did! Gillian kept diving into the balls like they were water and telling us she was swimming!

They also liked to race on this giant slide!

After the Jungle, we pulled out the coolers, found some shade and had our picnic lunch. Grammy was nice enough to make Daddy's favorite funfetti birthday cake too! Although, we didn't sing to him. Bean did enjoy the cake though!

After lunch we headed towards the "kids" section, although the whole park is mostly geared towards younger kids. C&G could ride each and every ride in the "kids" section. And they took good advantage of that! We were so happy that Colin outgrew his dislike of rides! He had so much fun! And Gillian has always loved rides!

First up was the "Grand Prix" style drive!

And some airplanes (they never figured out that the stick makes the plane go up and down, bummer.)

We tried to convince Gillian that this turtle ride was a rollercoaster. We weren't sure she'd be tall enough to ride the BIG coaster. She almost bought what we were selling. But, in the end, it didn't cut it as a "turtle coaster." Smart girl. She did enjoy the turtles though!

While in kiddie land we also (all) road the train around the park and gulped some lemonade, and rode one or two more kid rides. By then the adults were melting and desperate for the "water" portion of Idlewild. Bring on the WET.

With a bit of jostling and waiting, we all changed into swimsuits. All the ladies agreed that it is IMPOSSIBLE to don a bathing suit when your entire body is covered in sweat. It just doesn't work. Although, it was amusing!

Obviously we didn't get the camera out in the water park, but I will assure you: Nothing has ever felt as good as that water did when we FINALLY got in the pool! All the adults just stood under the running water in the kiddie pool with big grins of relief! C&G really enjoyed the water too. They did lap after lap of the 2 foot deep kiddie pool and even ventured a bit under the "waterfall" there. However, the BIG hit in the water park was the wave pool. The park supplies (and requires) life vests for non-swimmers and kids under 48" so the kiddos felt pretty secure, I think. The waves were "turned off" when we got in the pool, but it didn't take long for them to come on. The kids shrieked and giggled and splashed and had the best time! It was great to see them have so much fun!

After a good cool down and some fun in the water, the kids were looking tired and it was after 4:00, so time to head home! As we headed back through the park, we rode the carousel and Papa Frank and Daddy rode the big rollercoaster. Don't tell Gillian. She is STILL insisting that she wants to ride the coaster! Honestly, she was tall enough to ride it, but I wasn't waiting in that line with her! This Mama was hot, tired, and DONE. Next time, Bean. Promise.

Some last pictures of my ragamuffin children. They were both mismatched at this point. As Daddy and I changed them out of their swimsuits and into fresh, clean clothes.....they both peed. Ooops. We forgot to account for the amount of pool water they must have had to drink! So, mismatched clothes for the ride home! Oh well!

The kiddos look pretty tired in the those pictures! We all were! We spent the rest of the weekend recuperating. And the kids came down with fevers and colds! But, it was a fun, fun day. Next summer, we'll pick a cooler day though!

Hello Nittany Lion!

2011-07-20T14:49:00.006-04:00

Ugg, I'm currently a week behind on blogging. Blah. I love to blog, but I hate it when I get behind!

Anyway, the kids and I spent all last week up north, splitting our week between Grammy and Papa Frank's house and GraGra and Papa Greg's house. It was, thankfully, a beautiful week (no one up there has central air conditioning for this princess to be spoiled in!). It was sunny and warm, but no humidity. The perfect week to spend outside visiting and playing! Most of the week we just played in various backyards and blow-up pools. We went for a big swim at Dickiedoo's house one night too; Gillian had a blast wearing a life jacket and swimming "all by myself!"

The big event of the week though was a visit to State College on Thursday to check out the Arts Fest and meet the Nittany Lion! Shockingly enough, we hadn't had the kids to State College to check out Penn State yet, and it was time to remedy that! Grammy and I loaded up the kids right after breakfast and zipped right over. The kids were very persistent with their questioning of, "Is it Penn State yet?" And very good at pointing out electric towers and bridges the whole way there.

Our first stop was the "People's Choice Arts Fest" in Boalsburg. I have several friends from college who now live in State College (I'm very, very jealous) and I had made plans to meet up with two of them, Natalie and Gwen. I hadn't seen Natalie since my wedding...TEN YEARS AGO! And you know what, she hadn't changed a bit. Well, except for the four kiddos!

It was hard to chat very much with seven kids between three adults, but we did get to catch up a bit!

(Natalie's oldest, Nicholas, had his friend along for the day, hence the extra kiddo!)

Gwen sent us a text that she and her girls weren't going to make it though. They had just gotten back from Montana the day before, so they were just all out of sorts! We missed them, but it was TOTALLY understandable! Next time!

So, at the Boalsburg Arts Fest they had a petting zoo, bounce house, train ride, and science tents for the kids. The petting zoo and bird seed bin were total hits with Colin and Gillian. Well, the petting zoo was more Colin's favorite, but I think Gillian enjoyed it too!

Colin and Grammy enjoyed feeding the (slightly pushy) goats.

But Colin's favorite were these pigs that Gillian is smiling at!

Bean liked the tortoise. It wasn't in her face, like the goats!

See? Pushy goat.

Both kids loved, loved, loved this bin of bird seed in the science center tent. They had all sort of machines that you could pour the seed through and watch them spin. They must have spent 30 minutes in the seed.

Gillian also had her face painted by some lovely high school thespians. Really, she was much more pleased with it than this picture would lead you to believe!

When Colin saw what they were doing to Gillian, he got all panicked and started saying, "I no have to do that. I no want to get paint!" over and over. Poor kid. I did NOT make him paint his face!

Of course, it was mandatory that we ride the train. No escaping that. It was actually quite a bumpy ride!

It was nice though, Natalie and I agreed, since it drove us past most of the art booths. That was the only way I was going to get to look at the art!

We had a quick lunch with Natalie's family and packed up. We were headed into downtown State College for the "official" Arts Fest. Although, I have to say, if you have little kids, Boalsburg is the place to visit. Much more kid friendly.

By this point it was 1:00 and our usual nap time. The kids did really well though. Grammy and I pushed them around the streets for a while, looking in booths and chatting. I think the kids enjoyed the breather. We checked out the annual sand sculpture (kids were not impressed).

We grabbed a lemonade, a potty break, and walked through the misters on the street. Then it was on to campus!

The kids were STILL asking where the Nittany Lion was! I think they were also a little confused by the multi-building, campus-style "school." Didn't quite fit their definition of "school." And Gillian asked if she could go into a frat house. NO. NEVER. EVER. It was also quite an eye opener to push a double stroller on campus. First of all, it's so STEEP! Second of all, all of my usual "shortcuts" are not so quick with a stroller!

Finally, we found Mr. Lion!

And again, the kids were less than impressed, I think. Grammy and I tried to get them to sit on his back for a nice (traditional) photo, but, no go. They told us the lion was "too slippery." So, we let them play around the lion and I got a few shots of them.

Not sure what that face is about!

They did like his tail!

Almost the picture I wanted!

Soon there were other people wanting a turn with the lion, so we were off. Off to find Creamery Ice Cream. Yum.

And find it, we did! Thankfully we had the sense to only get two (huge) cones and shared them. The kids always ask for strawberry and Grammy ordered Death by Chocolate.

After ice cream it was time to head home. We were all tired, hot, and sticky. The kiddos did NOT fall asleep in the car on the way home. They hardly ever sleep in the car! So, they were in bed at 6:50 pm. And were out like lights!

Oh, and as we were leaving campus, Colin said to us, "I want to go to PENN STATE!" Oh, music to my ears!

We really did have a very fun week visiting with all of our family. I think it will be on our agenda for next summer too!

Funny Girl

2011-07-20T14:35:00.003-04:00

Gillian has been quite the funny girl the past week or so. The things she says are just WILD! Here's a smattering of her current bon mots.

After bonking her head, "OH! Now I have a three head!" I'm guessing that's in contrast to a forehead?

"I want to be a grown up." Um, no.

"I want to be a Mommy." Even more no.

Well, really, yes to those last two, but only in due time!

"I want to ride a ROOOOOOLLLLLLERCOASTER!" That is what she says when we talk about going to Idlewild (little, local amusement park) on Friday. She even says it when she sees amusement park commercials on tv. I'm not sure even knows exactly WHAT a rollercoaster is. I think she's going to be disappointed when she's not tall enough to ride!

I can't bring myself to share what she and Daddy were talking about in the bathroom the other night. Someday she'd be just too embarrassed.

Baby Apples!

2011-07-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

Colin just loved the unripe, green apples from Papa Frank's orchard. He carried them all over and showed them to one and all!

July 4th Catch-up, Part 3, The Fourth Proper

2011-07-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

On Monday morning we were off and running! While I finished getting ready for the day, Daddy and the kiddos played outside and had a little photo shoot. The lighting was awesome, and the kids were looking pretty cute, all patriotic and whatnot!

Grammy got some love too.

And before the day got crazy, we tried for a family photo. Lo and behold, SUCCESS! A small 4th of July miracle.

I'm told the swing had a catastrophic failure shortly after this picture was taken. That's the price you pay for a decent family photo, I guess.

We decided to go downtown to check out the festivities. The "Patriotic Program" was at 11:00 with speakers and high school marching band, so we did a walk-by of that. The kids were less than impressed. They did enjoy some playground time and there was prime people watching. We also found a giant blow up slide to try. We were very surprised when Colin ran right up the steps and ZIPPED down all by himself. Last summer he was totally opposed to rides. Gillian, on the other hand, loved rides last summer but on the 4th she got half way up the slide and had to call for Mommy. So, I went up and helped her. It was pretty fun. Super fast!

Then we found THE TRAIN.

Honest, they had more fun than their faces would lead you to believe.

Then we found a strawberry shortcake snack (a fundraiser for a local boy with SMA, so we HAD to help out). Yum.

Then we back to Grammy and Papa's house for picnic lunch! There were lots of people, food, and good times. The kids especially appreciated the doritos. Colin also spent a lot of time taking Joe and Uncle D down to the "Log Patch" (aka wood pile) and the orchard to check out the "Baby Apples" (unripe, green apples).

He's so lucky to have people to indulge him!

The kids headed for a much needed rest and the grown-ups had some dessert! Daddy and I had made this very patriotic dessert for the day, WITH sparkle candles!

After nap, Jess was kind enough to bring the C&G favorite cast of characters to life in chalk.

(That's Momo)

(And Thomas)

(And Gillian)

Then it was time for the parade!!!! Really, it was mostly firetrucks and ambulances. But that was fine with Colin. He was as excited about the 80th firetruck as he was the first. GraGra and Papa Greg joined us, and Uncle D and Aunt Cedes came along too.

(The firetrucks were a bit loud for C).

Besides the firetrucks, the kids had fun with their balloons and eating Papa Greg's french fries and drinking everyone's lemonade.

Then it was home for a very late bedtime. No fireworks for us. These two just can't make it that late. And, honestly, I was tired too! Maybe in the next year or two we'll finally make it!

Uncles Rock

2011-07-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

July 4th Catch-up, Part 2, Corn and Donkeys

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, July 2, after nap we headed out to see GraGra and Papa Greg and measure some corn. See an explanation of measuring corn here.

Colin and Gillian were pretty happy to see GraGra and Papa and immediately set out to do everything possible that their parents would never let them do. Well, not EVERYTHING...but they tried. First they checked out GraGra's new playhouse. She found hers by the side of the road for free too. We are so awesome.

Then they "helped" Papa water the garden. I wasn't present, but I hear G told Papa when he tried to explain how the hose works, "No, I figure it out myself!" Yep, that's my girl.

When I got there, Colin was pretty well soaked. Apparently Gillian was innocent though, Colin had just backed himself directly into her line of fire.

Once we finally convinced them that the plants were plenty wet, we walked up to the corn field to measure some corn. The field we picked looked pretty good. It was one of the highest fields we saw in the area. The wet, cold spring was tough on planting season, I think.

For the third year in a row, the kids were less than thrilled with this activity. Tough. They will continue to humor me for many more years.

This year they asked lots of questions while we measured. Mostly "WHY are we in the corn and WHAT are we doing?"

G using her knee to measure. You know....KNEE high by the Fourth of July!

Definitely not thrilled.

After torturing the kids with corn for a while, GraGra insisted that we ride down the road to visit a baby donkey. My Grandpa owns a male miniature donkey who was bred with a lady donkey down the road and the baby had just been born on June 30. Mostly I was humoring my mom. But, I'm glad we did. That baby donkey was just about the cutest dang thing I've ever seen. (Yet another example of, Always Listen to your Mother.).

Meet Junie.

She was super friendly, sniffing us up and down and nuzzling a bit. Then she would RACE off, jumping and bucking, turn on a dime, and race back. Oh my, she was funny. I wish I had a video of her shenanigans.

The kids enjoyed Junie, and pet her some. But, they were more intrigued by the other animals that lived with Junie. Junie's donkey mom (Ellen), of course, and another lady donkey, a horse, chickens, pigeons, frogs, guinea pigs, and a herd of dachshunds. Honestly, it was like toddler heaven.

After petting and talking to many of the animals, we headed back to Grammy and Papa's for pizza (mmmm, the BEST local pizza place ever) in the backyard. Another fun day! With more to come!

Underbrella

2011-07-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

That's what Gillian calls umbrellas. Grammy had this cool duck umbrella at her house over the 4th of July weekend. Gillian claimed it as hers.

She liked to have parades with it. And refuse Colin a turn with it. It stayed at Grammy's, needless to say.

July 4th Catch-up, Part 1

2011-07-09T19:59:00.004-04:00

See about Michael's love affair with the Fourth of July here and here.

So, holiday weekend....well we drove up north to the Land of Grandmas on Friday, July 1. We got there in time for some play, lunch, and nap. Big news this trip was that we are finally DONE with the Pack n Plays!! Woo hoo! The kids were really much, much too tall for them anyway! But, since we are doing so well with big-kid beds at home, we bought some air mattresses for travel. The kids did REALLY well in them. They looked so much more comfortable in them than in those tiny travel cribs (and Grammy may have spoiled them with Thomas and Princess sheets for the new mattresses)! HOORAY for sleep!

Oh, and C&G helped Papa Frank make some fresh squeezed lemonade...just like Max and Ruby make!

(Per usual, G isn't wearing many clothes. And that's Grammy's two month old Cinderella balloon helping too)

Anyway, Friday evening we drove out to eat dinner at Uncle Stevie and Aunt Emily's new house! Aunt Em just started a new job, and she and Uncle Stevie moved back home and bought a lovely new house! We were pretty excited to check it out! The kids were particularly excited to check out the playhouse in the back yard. It passed their inspection with flying colors! As did the dinner Uncle Stevie cooked up for us!

The slide is very zippy.

On Saturday morning we called on Dickiedoo, Noonie, and their pool! Colin and Gillian absolutely love water, and we don't have much chance to swim, so they were pretty excited! And headed STRAIGHT for the water when we got there!

They loved these blow-up, q-tip things....

Both of them will jump from the ladder and side too.

And G really liked Daddy to spin her!

Poor G. She has approximately 0% body fat and she SHIVERS her way through swim time. She really needs a wet suit, or 100 degree water to swim in. Despite the shivers though, she ended up skinny-dipping for the last half of our visit. Again, very few clothes. It's a theme. We didn't get any skinny dip pictures. Or pictures of me falling off the raft rather ungracefully. Or of G after she FELL IN THE POOL after she was dressed (she was immediately scooped up by Dickiedoo who was sitting 6 inches from her). Exciting morning.

More to come....

MIA

2011-07-08T09:16:00.001-04:00

We've had a super busy July so far and some technical difficulties getting our 4th of July pictures up and running! I hope to be back to updates soon! Please come back and check out the fun! And comment. We L-O-V-E comments!

Happy Cats

2011-06-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

Our cats love summertime when they have access to the deck. Our deck doesn't have steps off of it, so it's pretty safe to leave them out there for as long as they'd like. At least in the day time. Schmo has been known to get into some trouble out there after dark. So he has a curfew.

But, daytime? It's all good!

MoMo has been on a diet. Can you tell?

Right after I snapped these pictures, the kids came tromping and screaming onto the deck. The cats quickly excused themselves. Schmo and Weasel love the deck, but not enough to share with crazy toddlers!

Another Statement

2011-06-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

This isn't what she started the day wearing, but by 4:00 she looked like this:

Oh boy.

Treats!

2011-06-28T21:06:00.002-04:00

Once we moved the kids into their big beds, we set up a chart to help us reinforce the "stay in your bed and go straight to sleep" aspect of the new bed set-up. We let the kids pick their own rewards this time. Gillian has had her eye on a Marshmallow Peep lollipop from Easter (yes, two months ago) so that was her pick, and Colin really, really like his popsicle from our last day of school, so that was his pick.

They are doing a great job of staying in their beds and (usually) going straight to sleep, so they earned their treats pretty quickly! Good job, kiddos!

(We gave G a popsicle too, just to be nice. Colin declined a marshmallow peep. Smart boy.)

Yum. Yum.

Bums and Bucket Trucks

2011-06-26T14:22:00.002-04:00

Last week one day, perhaps Thursday, we had great excitement at breakfast! Colin heard a noise, peaked his head out on the deck, and, low and behold, there was a bucket truck in the neighborhood taking down a tree! You would have thought the Pope pulled up with The Beatles in his trunk, that's how excited C&G were!

They ran and got their stools and pulled them up to the deck railing for a better view. The sight of them, in their undies, watching the tree trimming truck was just too funny.

(You can see the boom of the truck just above the deck railing on the left-hand side of the picture)

Fortunately I did convince to them come in for some breakfast after a bit, but once they ate, they went back out to watch them finish the job. Such excitement. We could hardly stand it.

Daddy's Day!

2011-06-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

/

After our crazy Friday and Saturday full of running here and there, we were quite ready to spend a quiet day at home. We had planned on taking Daddy out for breakfast and the kids had their hearts set on it (and had talked about it for 5 days before Father's Day), so we did run out for French Toast, bacon, and bagels. Other than that though, it was a quiet day at home. Thankfully.

The kids played in the yard and caught up on some sleep. I caught up on laundry and tried to tackle the never ending de-cluttering process! Daddy relaxed and worked on some computer projects he's been plugging away at. He assures me it was a very nice day.

I really hope he did enjoy his day. Michael is pretty much the best Daddy in the world, in our minds. He deserves at least one day of appreciation!

Not Such a Great Evening

2011-06-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

After our busy evening of concert-going, we had a slightly grumpy morning around our house. So the kids went down for nap a little early and had a good, long sleep. We were running again after nap though because we were supposed to be going to a birthday party for a 2 year old friend of ours'. His party had been rescheduled from a few weeks ago when he was sick; we thought they had just switched the date and left everything else the same! So we made our way to a local park that we had never been to before (it was nice, we might go back sometime) and looked for our party. No luck.

So Daddy went for a walk to make sure we were in the right spot and see if he could find our party. No luck, again. Hmmm. Interesting. Michael assured me we were in the right spot. I assured him it was the correct date and time. We don't have smart phones, so no checking face.book, email, or whatever. For some reason I don't have the birthday boy's mom's phone number either! BOO. What to do? Well, we just decided to go out for some dinner and make the best of it.

It was still early so we took a bit of a walk through the neighborhood. We found a fountain and train tracks, so that was fun.

The kids were less than enthused to go to the restaurant and their "legs were tired." That should have been a sign. We sat down and BOOM a very large crash from outside as the waiter walks up to the table. Hmmmmm. Turns out there was a three car accident on the street right outside. It wasn't super serious and no one was hurt, but there was lots of this:

Much to Colin's delight. Anyway, there was lots of wiggling, dropping things, and going to the potty. And not much eating by the young ones. At least Daddy and I ate our (very yummy) food. Sigh. Just not an enjoyable experience. I guess that will teach us to take very tired, grumpy little people out to eat on a whim.

Oh yeah, and the party? Turns out I missed the email that changed the time of the party to before lunch. It went to my junk account instead of my "good" one. So, yes were in the right PLACE (thank you, Daddy) but not the right time. Sigh.

First (not so great) Concert

2011-06-22T12:00:00.001-04:00

Last Friday night we gathered up the kiddos and headed out over the hill to one of the county's free summer concerts. It happened to be the "Hometown Music Fest" that evening and we were particularly interested in hearing a local band called Lohio. We knew there was a chance of NOT hearing them since we didn't know the exact line-up of bands, but it was free and a nice evening, so WHY NOT?

So over the hill we went and settled in.

We packed some food and drinks, and Matt and Rachel (or Match and Rachel as the kids were calling them) joined us with more food!

We had fed the kids some before we left, but apparently we didn't need to. I've never seen these two chow down like they did on Friday night! They ate chicken, watermelon, pretzels, biscuits...you name it. It was pretty funny; they just kept going back for more!

And then they ran. A lot. Up and down. Left and right. Around and around. And we went potty. We always have to go potty. Gillian has a severe case of "I've gotta use every public restroom." Oh, and we visited the ambulance and police car. Good thing the music was less than stellar because we couldn't have enjoyed it anyway!

Gillian did manage to slow down long enough to get Daddy to dance with her! Colin helped me take these pictures too!

Isn't that lighting ridiculous? So pretty!

Anyway, we stayed way past Kid Bedtime and the music was not good, so home we went without hearing Lohio. But, the kids had fun, although Colin did tell us "That too loud for me," several times! We are hoping to catch one or two more concerts this summer with the kids, hopefully they will be First (Good) Concert material!

Last Day

2011-06-21T20:07:00.003-04:00

Last Wednesday was our last day of Mommy & We class. The kiddos and I had been going for about a year to a class offered by the company I work for. It's open to children 18 months to 3 years and is lead by the wonderful and amazing Miss Melanie. Colin and Gillian absolutely loved going to that class. As soon as I told them each Wednesday that it was Melanie School Day, I'd get big grins and Colin would tell me, "I think I love Melanie."

Daddy and I are so grateful to Miss Melanie for such a positive first "school" experience for the kiddos. I think those early learning experiences really do set a child up with a mindset that school is either FUN or not-so-fun. We definitely have two HUGE school fans here! C&G are all signed up to go to preschool (without Mommy, as G is sure to tell you) one day a week in the fall. They can already point out "New School" when we drive past it and are quite excited to start after Labor Day!

I only got a couple of pictures from our last day of Melanie School Beach Party. I'll just say that the highlights were push-pops and water balloons!

Gillian playing "store" during free play.

Colin showing off the fish we made at craft-tine:

We are going to miss Melanie a whole bunch, but we already made promises to meet to go swimming sometime soon!

And a Big Boy Too!

2011-06-20T13:20:00.005-04:00

About five days after we moved Gillian over to her big girl bed, we moved Colin into his Big Boy Bed. Or Big Bear Bed, as he calls it! He is doing very, very well with it. He is such a phenomenal sleeper that I wasn't too worried about him, but toddlers can throw you for a loop sometimes!

As you can see, he was pretty excited about it!

Little Backyard Picnic

2011-06-17T06:00:00.001-04:00

Colin and Gillian have been wanting to have a picnic for a few weeks now, and we finally had a nice weekend day to squeeze one in! Sadly, due to mowing, cleaning, and other whatnot we ran out of time to actually drive over the hill to picnic in the park, so we just threw a blanket out on the back lawn for lunch last Sunday! Fortunately, the kids were satisfied with that! Really, they are easy going about stuff like that most of the time!

So, a bagel with cream cheese on the lawn...made Colin happy, anyway!

G scarfed down her bagel, grapes, and "stinky" pretzels too!

They really did have fun, and we ate dinner on the deck that evening, which they loved too! We'll have to get some more of that this summer!

Hello, Big Girl Bed

2011-06-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sigh.

Last Friday night we finally had to take the rail off Gillian's crib and turn it into a "big girl bed," I know we did really, really well to make it past 2 1/2 years with cribs! Despite being fully capable of getting in and out of the cribs by themselves for quite a while, neither kiddo really ACTED on that skill until about two weeks ago. So, Mommy finally worked up enough nerve to let GO and we made the leap.

And, it's been going really well. Gillian had already been working on a bedtime chart for going "straight to sleep" and we added a "stay in bed until Mommy gets you" caveat, and she's been chipping right away at filling up her circles. She's already earned an ice cream cone!

She's obviously loving it!

This was her first night in the "big girl bed"!!!!

Colin's up next. I just couldn't do both at once......

Smokestack Visit

2011-06-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

I think I've mentioned before that our Costco is located on a reclaimed brownfield site. Yum. One supreme advantage to this, in the kids' minds at least, is that we have access to SMOKESTACKS whenever we go shopping! Another advantage is that huge freight trains rumble by every 10 minutes while you shop.

(Note: These aren't ACTUALLY smokestacks, but instead open hearth furnace stacks used in steel production)

It was nice on Friday while we were down at the store, so after we loaded up our purchases we spent 5 minutes exploring and running and touching.

First you have to check out the sign. Gillian says so.

Then we just ran.

Friday was a very, very rough "toddler" day around here....so it's nice to have picture proof that we did have SOME fun.

Charts and Balloons

2011-06-14T14:49:00.006-04:00

Continuing along our potty training journey.....the kids were doing very, very well staying dry most of the time while they were awake. They would each have an accident every once in a while though, so I thought I'd see if some visual, positive reinforcement could make a difference! So, we made them each a chart with five squares on it and at bath-time if they had stayed "clean and dry" all day long, then we colored in the square. I told them when they got five days "clean and dry" in a row, we would go get a BIG balloon treat!

Gillian got her balloon about a week ago and I think it took her about 2 weeks to earn it. She, of course, picked a big Cinderella balloon, just like we got Grammy and GraGra for Mother's Day!

It took Colin a bit longer to earn his balloon....he's really good about telling us when he needs to poop....not always so great with the pee. Oh well, he's still doing a GREAT job! So, on Monday we were going to get a Thomas balloon for Colin!

We had spent the morning in the park and I left just enough time before lunch to stop at the dollar store to grab a Thomas. So, OF COURSE, they didn't have any! Seriously, who doesn't carry Thomas balloons??? And at this point, I had talked the thing up so much that there was NO WAY Colin was going to go home without his Thomas. I knew Giant Eagle had balloons, so we drove down the road to the grocery store, booked it across the parking lot, and rushed to the balloon and flower desk! Thankfully there was a very nice lady working there and she hooked us up!

As I was tucking Thomas into the back of the car, Colin was staring at him happily, and said, "Mommy, Thomas is a really good friend." How sweet is that?

After lunch I got some quick pictures with the oh-so-goofy kids and their balloons!

Poor Cinderella is starting to get kind of soggy and tonight Gillian had a total fit when Cinderella got caught in the ceiling fan, but beside that, we are really enjoying our BIG BALLOONS!! Good work kiddos!