Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you all have a safe one!

The 4 of us took in Chanhassen's festivities yesterday evening. The city had a kiddie parade which we walked in. Katie decorated her bike for it. There were A LOT of kids in it. Next time we'll know to bring candy to throw. :) The big parade is today and the weather looks like it will be a comfortable 80 degrees so we'll probably watch it.


After the kiddie parade we found some games that Katie played - all $.25 so she paid with her own money. :) She also went on a train ride, a car ride and got a little ladybug pained on her arm. I guess Willie got jipped because he didn't get to do anything besides eat pizza, a little funnel cake and ride in the stroller.

We are taking it easy today too...packing for our trip to Wisconsin tomorrow. We have a wedding for a college roommate of mine. (Congratulations Julie!) I am in the process of fighting a plugged duct. (Note: If you are not interested in breastfeeding trials...stop reading. :)) On Tuesday night Will decided to wake only once in night...great right? We had been on the go so much the last few days he hadn't nursed during the day on his normal schedule either. So Wednesday I was feeling like he needed to eat, and eat a lot. I had pumped earlier too. He ended up going to sleep and I started to feel sick. It hit me like a truck out of nowhere. My fever spiked to 101.3 and I was really nauseous. That lasted about 3 hours, then the fever broke but I was left with the remains of a plugged duct. Thanks to my months of La Leche meetings I think we almost have it cleared up. When they say those hurt...they aren't joking.

Can't eat right now, Mom. I'm too busy!

Tootsie

As promised, here is a picture of our fancy-schmancy toes. (Katie's are the little ones. :))

I had a nice time at my pedicure, and Katie had a nice time while I painted hers later that day. Of course she had to pick red.

We had a nice morning with some of Katie's preschool friends. A few of us gathered at a local park for a morning of play and then a picnic lunch. It was PERFECT weather for being outside.

The kids are getting their pictures take on Wednesday. This will be our first attempt with professional photography. We have been just taking the pictures ourselves up to now. Do I consider myself a bad mother because I haven't done the traditional 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 1 year pictures? Wait....lemmie go take the knives away from the children.....what was the question again?

Katie got to go shopping last week and spend a few dollars of her birthday $ along with birthday bucks from the toy store. This is what she BEGGED for. :) Note the shorter hair!!

And because Will is never more than a few steps behind...

My weekend

I am taking advantage of John this weekend.

So far I had a haircut this morning, which turned into a mini shopping trip for myself. I got something to wear for an upcoming wedding next weekend, and found some KILLER deals at Old Navy. ($1 flip flops!) Katie has never had flip flops before, and it has been awhile for me too...but I figured for $1 we would give them a try.
Tomorrow I have an appointment to use up a gift card John gave me last winter. I am getting a 30 minute massage and a pedicure. I've never had a pedicure before...but I hear good things. I figure it will go quite nicely with the new flip flops. :)

Now during all this pampering time, John is at home alone with the kids. :)

Happy Birthday Grandma Lyla!

Happy Birthday today to Grandma Lyla! She is XX years old. :) Have a wonderful day.

We got back last night around 8:30pm. The kids went to bed relatively well and we were able to unpack before it got too late so that was good. Today we are just playing catch up with laundry and the kids are getting used to playing by themselves again. :) I've decided I'm really going to work on getting Will to sleep a little more at night. (Like I haven't been trying for the last 6 months, I guess.) Last night he was up at 11:45, 1:15, 2:30...then not again til 5, at which point I just let him yell and John got him back to sleep. At 6:45 he was awake and ready to be up, even though I tried to get him to lay in the big bed.
Hopefully that was just a bad night due to traveling, but somehow I doubt it. We'll see.

Summer activities

Yesterday turned out to be VERY nice. It got above 80 again....only the third time this year. We are excited to have some warm weather. Katie started soccer camp. It runs for about 5 weeks - one afternoon a week for about 45 minutes. She had a blast! Last year when she would run with a group of kids she was ALWAYS last. :) This year she wasn't first, but wasn't last. Nice to see her in the middle. There was great structure to the little class and Katie learned some new tricks. She also got a new soccer ball.

Soccer star!

Will wanted in the action too. It was hard keeping him in one place. He saw those soccer balls and wanted to go get one!

We were HOT after soccer so we found the baby pool and threw some water in it. Will was WAY excited. Katie kept getting angry because he was splashing her. We finally had to get out because Will kept leaning over and laying face first in the water. :) I think he was trying to 'drink' it.

And finally...here is the birdhouse that Katie finished this weekend. We have yet to hang it, but it will get hung. She did a very good job and was not at all messy!

My slightly green thumb

Our garden is really taking off. Everything seems to be growing very well - so far. John has done 90% of the weeding so far, but I vow to help when I can. :) I thought I would include some pictures today of the garden to let you see how it's coming.

One side of the garden is growing strawberries and some type of lettuce. (Here from the previous owner.) In the far corner I planted some wildflower seeds to finish off the space.

These are the rows of carrots, peas and beans. There is also a tomato plant and a green pepper plant.
And because corn is priced so high, we thought we would add that to our crop mix too. :) I have two whole stalks starting to grow. :)

Holy Cow - Katie is 4!

Happy Birthday to Katie! She woke up this morning wanting to hear the story of her birth again - which we tell at least one a week since Will has been born. Humor me as I re-tell it in blog form. :)
It was Wednesday, June 16th. I had just come home after working a full day at the investment office. John and I were set to go grocery shopping. I had an appointment on Thursday, June 17th and the midwives were thinking about trying some things to move labor along. I had been 3 cm dilated for about a week. I wanted to stock up on groceries so that we would have plenty to eat in the house for the next couple of weeks, and I didn't think I could do it myself. We got home late so we cooked a frozen pizza, watched some tv, and went to bed.

I woke up around 1:45 am with some odd pains in my side. I rolled over and went back to sleep. 10 minutes later, it happened again. I got up, went to the bathroom, and proceeded to drink 2 big glasses of water and lay on my left side. (This is what they always tell you to do if you are having pains. It could be a result of dehydration.) They continued to come every 8-10 minutes. At about 2:30 am I woke up John on the couch and told him I was having some weird pains. "You don't have to get up, I just wanted to let you know." He was going to just go back to sleep, but then he heard me breathing through a contraction and got up. Around 3:30 am I decided to call the hospital. My contractions had started coming every 5 minutes and I was getting anxious. My fear was that we would go to the hospital and they would send us home because this wasn't the real thing. The nurse that I spoke to told me to take a warm shower which may help the pain. If I wanted to come get checked out later in the morning, I could. So I went ahead and got in the shower around 3:45. The water did help, but the contractions were coming so hard now it was difficult to move. I dreaded getting out and getting dressed, but somehow managed to do it. By now it was around 4:30 or so and after pacing around a bit, I remember making the announcement "I have to get to the hospital." John grabbed the bag, some odds and ends, and I made my way to the car. We didn't have a far drive and got to hospital around 4:50 am or so. In the car ride, something had changed. Ohhh boy, it hurt now. I held John's hand and in my head I was chanting "It'll be over soon, It'll be over soon..." over and over again. Later, John told me that he finally realized that this was it - we were having a baby right now. This was the real thing. On the radio played the song "Come to Papa" by Bob Seger.

When we got to the hospital, the doors were locked because it was so early. We had to buzz someone to let us in. I was screaming "Let me the #%@! in!" John calmly said "My wife is in labor." The doors opened and we went to the admissions desk. Now I had already pre-registered 2 weeks before, but for some ungodly reason they still make you check in. This poor little Asian woman was trying her best to get my info up as I yelled at her to HURRY THE HELL UP!
"Do you want a wheelchair honey?"
"NO-I"LL JUST WALK! LET'S GO!"
"Oh, well it's quite a ways to walk...."
"THEN GET ME A DAMN WHEELCHAIR!"
After standing there about 10 minutes or so she wheeled me up to labor and delivery, and John went to park the car. I'd had 2 contractions on the ride up to the L&D floor, so when we got there all she could say was "She needs a labor room right away - no monitoring." I tried to explain to the nurses I had called earlier, but didn't need to. The nurse I talked to said "I'm SO sorry I told you to take a shower! Look, your hair is still wet!" I got into the gown (after I asked if I had to take off my underwear. "Gee, no hon, we're gonna pull this baby out of your nose." I was a little out of it) and they told me I was 8 cm dilated. I got out of bed and yelled for some painkillers. They were able to get an IV in, but before they could get it hooked up, I was complete. We'd been at the hospital just about 30 minutes and out came the baby. John said "It's a girl," and the rest is 4 years of wonderful memories. I'm so glad we were able to stay at home for so long during the labor because it helped me get through labor naturally and drug free - there's no other way I would have been able to do it.
Thank you Katie for being our first child, and for putting up with us for 4 years.

Katie and Pop

Baby Katie with cousin Sarah.

Either Katie was little or we had a huge remote. I think it was a little of both.

Happy Father's Day!

First of all, I wanted to take a moment to wish all the Dads out there, especially mine, a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for us!

Last night we had a mini-birthday party for Katie. Her actual birthday is on Tuesday, but we decided to celebrate it early. We invited our friends, Jamie, Joe, and their son, Noah over and grilled out. Katie was excited to show off her presents and share her picnic table with Noah.

Here is Katie all decked out in her pads. She got a scooter, and is getting pretty good at it. No tears...yet. John backed the cars out of the garage and she likes riding it there.

Now I will toot my own horn - I decided to make Katie a cake myself. I made a double layer vanilla cake with fresh strawberries layered inside. Next time I will use even MORE strawberries (they were very good). Katie picked out the fish candies (on the side) and I decorated the rest. I think I have been watching too much Ace of Cakes on the Food Channel. :)

Katie and Noah sat VERY nicely at the little table to eat. Noah enjoyed his FIRST hot dog. :)

We ate our cake outside after supper. Well - the adults ate their cake...the kids decided that playing was more important. Here's Katie and Noah taking a milk break.

On Sunday, John helped Katie put together a bird house she got for her birthday. She wanted to paint it very badly. :) It turned out beautiful and will make some bird a very good house. It was a nice Father's Day activity for them to do. Katie and Will also made John a shirt for Father's Day that says "#1 Pop". They put their hand prints on it and Katie painted some pictures on it. :) Happy Father's Day!

Happy Birthday Grandma Mary!

Just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Birthday Grandma Mary! Lots of June birthdays! Katie says she hopes you got her card. :)

Extreme Weather

I think we can all say that we are sick of the extreme weather we have been seeing lately. The heat wave out east, the floods in the Midwest, ick. Luckily, here in MN, we have been spared somewhat from the extremes. The only thing we have to put up with is windy, cool days. Today has been pretty good - have we gotten outside to enjoy it? Of course not. :)

(Oooh, yummy, a Schwan's truck just went by.)

Katie had a camp day yesterday at My Gym. That is her gym class place that she went to until we started preschool. All of the teachers remembered her, but it took a little coaxing to get her to go play and she wanted me to stay and watch for a couple minutes. Will wanted to just get down and go play! He was too little to play yesterday, but maybe we'll take him in a couple weeks. Katie starts soccer next week, and that runs for about 5-6 weeks; an hour every Tuesday.

Will turns 11 months tomorrow. (I KNOW! Where has the time gone?) He has turned into quite the little boy. It's really fun to watch the two kids and how DIFFERENT they are.

Be warned...

This morning I spent some of my time making cookies. I made oatmeal raisin cookies, and they are very yummy. But there are some secret ingredients. I added pureed bananas and pureed zucchini. You can smell and kind of taste the bananas, just because that's such a strong smell and taste, but nevertheless, the cookies are VERY good. I'm telling you, even Uncle Jim would like these! I got the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. She published all these very basic recipes, with pureed vegetables and fruits. So while the cookies were baking, I went ahead and steamed and pureed a bunch of carrots, zucchini, and also baked a butternut squash to puree.

Tonight we are going to have chicken quesadillas....with squash. Obviously John will eat pretty much any vegetable put in front of him, but Katie and I need a little coaxing. :) Hopefully this will help all of us eat a little better. Just think of the fiber in those cookies! Oatmeal, raisins, bananas, zucchini! I should have added some flax seed meal to it too, but that will wait til next time. Ground flax seeds are another one of my new additives lately. They have some protein, fiber, omega 3 fats and a couple tablespoons can be tossed into just about anything - pasta sauces, soups, and casseroles or baked dishes, etc.

So consider yourself warned...if you eat my food you may be getting more than you think you are. (Will ate the pureed zucchini for lunch and it was a big hit. :)) I am very excited to try some of the recipes like banana bread with cauliflour, pancakes with sweet potatoes, chicken nuggets with broccoli, angel food cupcakes with yellow squash, carrot frosting, etc. She suggests thinking past the recipies too and adding purees to boxed dinners. Anything to add some vitamins to our diet.

Also on the baking front I am planning on picking some rhubarb as soon as the wind dies down and we can get outside. :) We have 3 rhubarb plants in our yard and I want to make Carol's rhubarb cake. (So, I'll need the recipe Denise!)

Will and Katie had been 'fighting' over her trycicle one day so I brought up Katie's old push bike that she got a few years back. Will supprised us by sitting on it and pushing right off with his feet. He does really well on it!

The kids' birthdays are coming up in a few weeks and I had been looking for a picnic table for them. It feels like I have been looking FOREVER! I tried to catch a few on Craigslist, but they always got sold out from underneath me. So I broke down and ordered one. They were cheapest if I ordered directly from Little Tikes, so I did and it was delivered today. It's much too windy and nasty to spend any time on it outside, so for now it's inside. Will does pretty well sitting at it too - he hasn't fallen off yet anyway.

Happy Belated Birthday Sarah!

So yesterday was Sarah's 15th birthday, and I meant to post it, but the day slipped away! I will take a moment now to embarrass her and post a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (The public embarrassment is really what counts. :)) We are glad to have her back safe and sound from her trip to New York.

What a weekend...

We had quite a weekend! It was BEAUTIFUL weather, yesterday was mid 70's and sunny, today was lower 80's and sunny. There was a chance for storms yesterday so we worked at home. John and I mowed the lawn, did some trimming on the bushes and shrubs, weeded the garden, treated the weeds, and caught up on laundry - all while running after 2 kids. :) I must say I'm not as sore as I thought I would be, but still sore. I happened to get a blister from mowing lawn and when I told John that his poor delicate flower of a wife got a blister he told me I'd have to mow more often so that doesn't happen again. :)

Today we made plans to visit Como Zoo in Minneapolis. It's a very nice zoo and conservatory that happens to be free. Katie and Will saw a zebra, giraffes, penguins, sea lions, tigers, lions, gorillas, monkeys, snakes, tarantulas, leopards, and a bunch that I just can't remember right now. They had WAY more animals than I thought they would have for a free zoo.

To get into the zoo part you have to walk through the amusement park area too, so Katie saw that they had all kinds of rides as well. After lunch we let her go on a few rides. She rode on the train, did the tea cups with John, and a fire truck ride with me. Then all 4 of us went on the carousel. It was quite the day. :)

After we left Como we drove down to the 35W bridge to see how that was coming. We walked on the pedestrian bridge that runs near there. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't really turn out very well. It was pretty massive, and they have made a lot of progress on the rebuilding which is set to be done around Christmas time.

John and Katie enjoying the tea cups.

Katie taking in the mighty Mississippi from the pedestrian bridge.

Hand in hand...

After the zoo, Will was not up for ANYTHING else. :) He was pretty excited when he saw most of the animals. The leopard came right up to the window and Will pointed, grunted and yelled. He did that for the monkeys too. It was pretty cute.

I *heart* NYC

My niece Sarah left for New York City yesterday morning. The Waukon High School is taking their traditional trip to NYC again. Every 3-4 years the band and choir load onto a bus and journey 24 hours to the big apple. This year, the kids got to fly. They left Minneapolis at 7 am and touched down at JFK about 9:15 am. Sarah called yesterday to tell Katie that she got her a magnet. Katie's reply was "Ok, now I want a magazine." We agreed a post card would work.

Ahhhh, NYC. For those of you reading this that happened to be lucky enough to go on our school trip in 96 - wow. That was the first year that we went to New York. Things are a bit different now. They still went through all their bags, they still threatened that kids would be sent home if they didn't behave, and they are still taping the hotel doors shut at night. But now when they go off sightseeing in groups of 3 or 4, they have to have a chaperone with them at all times. When we got sent off into the streets of Manhattan at 5 pm, we were told to meet at the Empire State Building at 8 (or 9 I can't remember). The group of 4 I was in didn't have an adult with us, we just took off. Some groups hopped in cabs, some jumped on buses or the subway. Looking back I think, wow - that was a little nuts. :) Everything about the trip was surreal. All of the kids this time have cell phones - when we went I don't even remember calling home, and neither does my mother. There aren't very many moments of high school I'd be keen on reliving, but the New York trip is at the top of the list. I wish we would have had digital cameras then - instead of lugging around film everywhere. I wish I would have taken more pictures of buildings and sites, rather than friends and people. I wish I would have taken more pictures in general.

Denise and Wally have taken it all pretty well. That's pretty good, considering that Sarah is in 9th grade. This is the first year they have taken the 9th graders along. A few months ago Denise said the only thing she was worried about was Sarah losing all of her money. :) I think we'll all breathe easier when Sarah is back in IA, but I'm sure she would want the trip to last a bit longer. I can't wait to see pictures.

Preschool Graduation

Today was Katie's big preschool concert and graduation ceremony. I tell you it was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Will was a VERY good quiet boy in his stroller while John and I captured the moment on film. John was posted with about 10 other dads in the back with the video camera. I took pictures. Katie's class, along with 2 other classes stood on the risers and sang their little hearts out. :) Katie was right in the front row and did a very good job - John and I could hear her in the back. :)

Then we went to her classroom for 'graduation.' They all wore caps and walked across a bridge, shook the teacher's hand and received a certificate of completion. They even had a gown to take pictures in. And yes, they do a graduation even though she will still be in preschool next year, but it's an older class and 3 days instead of 2.

Here is Katie during the concert - she is in the front row on the right side.

Katie receiving her certificate during graduation.

Of course Katie enjoys any moments where she is having her picture taken. I think this will be a good one to keep around for high school graduation.

This is Ms. Laurie, Katie's lead teacher in the Bumblebee class. Katie REALLY enjoyed having her for a teacher. Next fall, Katie's new teacher is going to have a baby, and luckily Ms. Laurie is the one who is going to step in and help out for a few months.

Will wishes he could go to preschool too. He loves crawling all over that room. John took the whole morning off so we went out to lunch after the program too. It was a very special day, a real tearjerker. I'm going to be a mess if this gets tougher. :)

Katie's Second Field Trip

On Tuesday Katie went on her second field trip for preschool. They took a school bus to a local park and played games and had snacks. Siblings were invited this time so Will and I were able to drive and meet them at the park. Of course it was FREEZING! They said it was supposed to get up to 60 yesterday, but it never quite did and the wind was terrible! When we left for school the wind chill was 38. Let's just say Katie didn't wear shorts. :)

Here is Katie's Bumblebee class.

Even Will got some play time.

Here are the girls in Katie's class - they just all plopped down together before it was time to go. :)

Memorial Weekend

We spent the holiday weekend in IA with family. We drove down Friday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised with the warm weather. The kids and I helped my aunt Carol celebrate her 87th birthday on Saturday. Katie made her a card and we updated her digital photo frame with more pictures of the kids.

Justin and Jordan Mezera (Janet and Jeff's boys) had their gradutaion parties on Saturday afternoon. Justin is graduating high school and Jordan is graduating 8th grade. We had another cousin's grad party on Sunday and now I think we are all done with those.

On Monday we took in the grand Waukon Memorial Day parade. There was a horse and a band this year! Katie got some candy so she was satisfied.

We drove home Monday evening when it was about 75 degrees. By the time we got home it was 51. Brrrr.

Katie kept Wally happy by coloring with him at the graduation parties.

Jim was one of Katie's 'best friends' all weekend.

Will thought he was a big boy when he got to ride on Katie's bike.

Finally...

Warmer weather has finally arrived and we actually made it outside today to enjoy it. This morning before we took Katie to school we hit a couple garage sales in the area and I found a baby swing for Will to use outside on the swing set. I also found a small slide for him (and Katie.)





With Katie's help (not much of it) we planted the garden this afternoon while Will took a nap. We planted green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, a little corn, some marigolds and assorted wild flowers. Whew. That was enough. I want to get a couple tomato plants yet, but that will come this weekend probably.

Happy Mother's Day

I finally have a chance to post some Happy Mother's Day wishes! So - to all the mother's out there, especially mine and John's - Happy Mother's Day and we love you.

It's been a busy weekend. We had to go to WI for a bridal shower/bachelorette party. John was drug along so that he could help with the kids. I wouldn't be able to travel that far with the kids, and I can't leave Will for that long yet. It was a good time - Katie and Will both had a good time. After the shower we went to a bowling alley/restaurant/arcade/amusement park in Wisconsin Dells for the bachelorette party. There were about 17 girls...and John and Will. :) We bowled a bit, Katie played some arcade games, and went on some rides. The restaurant handed out hats to everyone. Will was especially fond of his because he actually left it on his head for about 20 minutes.


On Friday night before the kids' bath, John suggested that we cut Will's hair. Just a trim around the ears, because it was getting pretty long and boys' hair really shouldn't be tucked behind the ears. :) So we got out the hair scissors and John held his head so that I could snip a few hairs. I started cutting and boy, did Will ever CRY! I tried to reassure him that it was only hair, and would grow back, but he was still upset. Then, in a calm voice John said, "Well, you did cut him." i look closer at the top of Will's ear as it starts to bleed. And bleed. And Bleed. Talk about mother's guilt. :) It finally stopped bleeding after about 10 minutes, and Will had LONG since stopped crying. There on the top of his ear was a tiny little gouge. I guess I'm gonna need some practice. P.S. Will also has another tooth poking through on the top. Hopefully all this tooth business has been the reason his sleep is wacky.

Lawnmower

John and I mowed the lawn for the first time this afternoon. We split it in half and each did a share. First, I must send a BIG thank you out to my dad. In all my years growing up he never made me mow lawn. :) That's what the baby of the family gets away with. I did mow a bit on the riding lawn mower, but it's not the same. I think John almost fell over when I admitted to him a few years back that I had never mowed lawn before. So now I can say I did it today - for the second time in my life. :) It sucks. But that's the price you pay for having warm weather. I think it's a pretty fair trade...for now. We are probably the youngest on our street, so it'd be pretty pathetic for us to use a riding lawn mower. I guess I'll have to suck it up and chalk it up as my exercise for the week. So for now, my green shoes and I say good night.

Monday Monday

Will had a great night sleeping Saturday night. He only woke up 2 times. Could be the fresh air he had while we played at our friend Jamie's house, could be the nice supper of applesauce he had that night, who knows. Anyway - he only woke up 2 times. It's been at least a month since he's only woke up 2 times. We tried to repeat the performance last night, but it didn't work. At 1:00 he woke up with a fever. It wasn't a big one, but enough to make him uncomfortable and require a dose of Tylenol. He squirmed and wiggled for about 2 hours, finally went back to sleep around 3. Then he woke up again and ate at 4:30 - then slept til about 8. He still had the fever this morning. Seems to be making him a bit whiny and irritable. (great) I put him down for a nap and 2 hours later he is still out like a light. This may put a kink in our hopes of spending the afternoon outside...

Prom time...

Tonight was prom in Prairie du Chien, WI. My nephew, Justin attended his senior prom. (Geez he's old!) Anyway, I thought it would be nice to post a picture of him and his girlfriend, Donna. They kicked off the evening by going all out and having dinner at...Gus and Tony's in Waukon. :) I have to agree, it would be a nice, affordable, fun place to go for prom. I should talk...we all went to Pizza Ranch in Decorah when I was in high school. :)

May is here

May has already arrived, but not the warm weather. Last night they said that there was a chance of 1-3 inches of snow for our area. We expected the ground to be covered when we woke up, but instead we were treated to bright sun and no snow. It's cold and windy, but there is sun. Supposed to be warmer tomorrow.
Will is on the move. He is still a slow crawler, but he can get around. It's funny to see him try to go really fast - usually for something of Katie's that she has left on the floor.
We got Katie all registered for preschool. Instead of moving her to the new preschool in Chaska, we are going to keep her in the Eden Prairie preschool. We really like the program and staff, so why change? She will be going 3 mornings a week next year.
Other than that - it's been pretty slow here. Just waiting to get outside....for more than 10 or 15 minutes.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Hanson!

We just wanted to wish Grandpa Hanson a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! Too bad it is rainy and wet - he won't get outside much to celebrate. See you soon!

MN Children's Museum

On Tuesday after school, Katie, Will and I went to the MN Children's Museum to check out their new exhibit about Sesame Street. Katie was VERY excited. I think she expected the actual characters to be there. :) It was a pretty cool exhibit. They also had a fitness exhibit where kids could do all kinds of strength, balance, and endurance exercises. Will didn't really know what to think of everything. He DID like watching the kids run around and climbing with Katie - when I would let him. (In the pictures, Katie's face is a mess because they let the kids do face painting...and well, that's how Katie painted her face. :))

We are heading back to Waukon again this weekend for my nephew Jordan's confirmation on Sunday. I don't think we will get to Waukon until later Friday night because we have to stop by Wade and Donna Hogen's. Orv and Sharon Hogen are going to be around and they haven't met Will yet.

Katie and Will hanging out in Big Bird's nest.

A tale of two Willies...

Katie perfecting her surfing skills.

Katie and Will on the job site.

This was pretty cool - they had an area where the kids could sit and appear on screen as if the Sesame Street characters were talking to them. They also had a VCR where parents could put a tape in and record their child's on screen debut. But honestly - tell me, who in the world carries VCR tapes with them when they go to a museum????!

Before and After

Will has started pulling himself up on things. You can tell he is very strong and will keep pulling and pulling until he gets up on his knees or feet. Once he is up, he is still learing that he needs to hold on or topple over. A few days ago he pulled himself up on our coffee table. He looked like such a big boy I had to take a picture. So I went and got the camera and snapped a picture. I wanted to take another one and just as the camera snapped the photo, he let go and, well...the result is the picture below. Being the tough guy he is he didn't cry, whine or even let it bother him. He just started pulling himself up again.

Before:

After:

Happy Birthday John!

Katie helped me make a birthday cake for John yesterday afternoon. She did the sprinkles and some of the frosting. Will didn't get to do anything this year.

I also found out yesterday that I won a drawing at the Byerly's supermarket here in town. We got a $50 gift card and a big basket if Italian pastas, sauce, olive oil, a nice plate, and a dishtowel. So every one's invited for supper I guess. :)

This weekend, Katie's school had a used kids' stuff sale to raise funds for next year. I was able to shop at it last night because I volunteered last weekend to help out. There was an entire gym full of outdoor toys, indoor toys, puzzles, dolls, baby equipment, books, clothes, you name it, they had it. About 25 of us went through everything and had 'first dibs' on whatever we wanted. I ended up coming home with 2 big boxes of clothes, a train set, some Lincoln Logs, books, sticker books, sippy cups, and shoes...all for $50. I was pretty happy. Katie played dress up all morning, trying on her new clothes. She wore a swimsuit, a pretty pink dress, a frilly nightgown, skirts, and tank tops. (I'm sure pictures will follow at some point.) :) Will wasn't very excited so he opted out of the fashion show.

Warm weekend

Yes, it is getting warmer up here...we did have a nice Monday and Tuesday this week. I think it got into the 60's...although there were 40 mile an hour wind gusts so we didn't really make it outside much. Today it's windy again and only in the 40's. This weekend looks to be the best weather we have had in a LONG time, should get into the mid 60's even with a chance of rain. It must be because of John's birthday! Yep, that's right John's birthday is tomorrow! Out of respect (and the fact that I have to live with him) I will not post his age. (Although anyone else is more than welcome to. :))