Meet Gracie

We went back to IA this past weekend to visit the grandparents and other assorted family members. We were greeted at the farm with a new face. This is Gracie....Amazing Gracie. Katie and Will (and John and I) really had fun getting to play with her. It's not often that Katie and Will play with a dog that is smaller than they are. She is a very calm and peaceful dog, part Labrador, part Samoyed.

No matter how little the dog, Katie will always assume this position when confronted. I kept telling her - just stand up!

Katie thought it was SOO funny when she would run and Gracie would chase after her, trying to keep up. Hmmm...just wait 2 months Katie, and I bet Gracie beats you.

Will had a tiny fever yesterday as we started for home, but he's feeling more like himself today. Just that darn runny nose...

We came home to find Betty the fish still alive...thank goodness. We went over to the neighbors after lunch to thank them for feeding her. I'm happy we have a fish...I don't think I could do a dog or cat just yet...let's get Will potty trained first.

I spose the next time we head south to IA will be for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, Will is sleeping better by then...(yeah, right...)

Will's 15 month checkup

Today we went in to the dr. for Will's 15 month checkup. He weighed in at just over 24 pounds (55th %) and he was 32 inches long ( 70th %). Basically he has grown an inch and gained a pound in the last 3 months. I think Katie grew more than an inch in the last 3 months....

He did great for his shots - they were no big deal to him. His doctor and I brainstormed a few ideas about how to get him to sleep better at night, but when he looked at Will's teeth, the dr. figured that they were probably causing some discomfort at night. She rarely sees all 4 18 month molars coming at the same time...which Will's are. And each have 4 points that have to break through the skin and until they are all through, it can be painful. So we'll take our time a bit more and work on really getting the sleep thing down in the 2 weeks or so. Just in time for the clocks to turn back...and that'll screw us up again. :) It really makes us realize how spoiled we were with Katie and what a great sleeper she was and still is.

There is no more school the rest of the week here in MN. We had a neighbor girl come over this afternoon so she could meet Betty, the fish. Turns out today was her 12th birthday! She has agreed to feed Betty for Katie while we are in IA for the long weekend. If we were just going to be gone for 2 days I think we could skip the feeding, but 3 days may just be too much, so we asked her to do it.

Kluesner pictures

Now that our friends, Drew and Heather Kluesner have made it home safely, (and updated their blog), you can see more cute pictures of Kate and Will playing with Alicia! Just click here to go to their blog!

http://just4alicia.blogspot.com/2008/10/vacation-part-2-moapladsens.html

A visit to the fire station

Yesterday the kids and I went to the local fire station for their annual open house. We got to ride around town in a real fire truck, Katie got to spray a hose, and have her picture taken with Sparky, the fire dog. They are talking about fire safety in school to since it is fire prevention week/month/whatever. We got a sheet to fill out showing that we had discussed it at home - and we decided to have our own "fire drill" tomorrow because it's too wet today. :) I am having flashbacks to my kindergarten/1st grade days when we discussed fire safety - about the same time of the year. After my first fire drill I came home and decided that I would not sleep upstairs anymore for fear of being caught in a fire. So for about 2 years I slept on the couch, clutching my dog. It didn't really help that my brother had promised me that in the event of a fire - he would not help me get out. Brothers can be jerks. :) So far, Katie sees our fire drill as a positive, exciting event.

John went with us to church yesterday as well because Katie sang up front for the first time. Her and her singing class (about 7 kids) sang (quietly) Oleanna and Jesus Loves Me. It was adorable and she was SO proud. In addition to the kids' music they celebrated with traditional Norwegian and Swedish music, instruments and FOOD. I got to eat some sunbackles, krumkake and of course lefse. They had rosettes too, but I thought I would make a pretty big mess with those. I hope I didn't slaughter the spelling there - the computer doesn't like norwegian food.

This is a short week for Katie - no school on Wednesday or Thursday. So we will be heading to Iowa to visit family. For right now, it's looking like we will leave on Thursday. Have a good week - stay dry! (It's raining here all day...)

I took pictures of Katie singing in church, but they didn't turn out the best. So, instead, I thought I would share a picture that seems make people smile. Katie was pouting and Will was trying to make her laugh. :)

And I almost forgot...

I was going to add this to the last post and forgot...

Katie had a new play date last week with another classmate. She spent 3 hours with her friend Ben at his home. She was in class with Ben last year, so they know each other pretty well and are good friends. I dropped Katie off to play - yep that's right - I didn't have to attend this 'date!' It was great to have an extra morning to run errands with only 1 child.

Ben has a little brother Drew who is about 5 months older than Will, and completely adorable. Katie loved their house and when it came time to leave I literally dragged her screaming to the car - very embarrassing. We promised to play with Ben again at our house. That seemed to make her feel better, but she REALLY liked Ben's house because they had an inflatable castle to jump in in their basement. :) The only thing her and Will were unsure about was the dog. They love dogs - if they are on the other side of a glass door (like the ones we see outside)...or if they are being held across the room...or if they are so well trained that they don't move when told to sit (like our friends' dog, Stanley).

Anyway, Ben's dog was named Jackson and was an 8 year old Boxer. (Very cute!) I guess I should add that Katie and Will now will put up with older dogs. This dog was sweet and barely moved...unless it was to lick Will's hand.

Old friends/New friends

Katie got to have a new little sister for a day. On Friday, college friends, Drew and Heather Kluesner, and their daughter, Alicia, from IL came to visit. We went through Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America and then came back to the house for pizza and play.

Drew and I were both math majors at Clarke...probably wouldn't have gotten through without each other....well, at least it made it more fun. We reminisced about late night study sessions at Perkins where the coffee rocked and the ash trays were emptied. Good times. :)

This was the first time we were meeting their 2 year old daughter, Alicia, although I feel like I know her already from their blog. Her and Katie hit it off right away. They had a good time holding hands and playing at the mall. Of course what visit is complete without a trip to Build-A-Bear...so they each made a stuffed friend too. (Well, Will just watched.)

Then we all came back to the house and ate supper, played with toys, screamed, etc. :) After about 20 hugs (not kidding) the girls were ready to say good-bye. Alicia is SUCH a sweetie, and was a perfect little girl - I really would have kept her here! When Katie woke up this morning, all she could talk about was Alicia. It was a great visit!

Katie and Alicia getting 'stuffed.'

Time to dance!

Sunny Wednesday

So Katie is at school this morning and Will is taking a nap. That was my plan for my 2 hour window of time today. I had hoped to begin my workout regime today, but alas I wasted my time washing dishes, folding clothes, putting away clothes, making beds, and typing a blog entry. I have a workout tape from the mid 80's - the original "Buns of Steel." If nothing else, it's good for a laugh. But it's also filled with simple exercises that make you feel the burn. A while ago Katie and I had discussed the picture that was on the tape cover. It's an odd looking picture of someone's rear, intending to look good, but really doesn't - looks mis-shaped. Anyway Katie claimed that she didn't want her bottom to look like that. I agreed, I wouldn't either. But I still think I should do something. Since I have been nursing Will I honestly could eat anything I wanted and still manage to see the numbers falling on the scale. It was a great feeling. I had no muscle tone, but still... :) Now that Will is growing into toddler-hood and cutting back on how much he needs from me, I don't really see the numbers going in the right direction, and am feeling just ho-hum in general. Time for some scheduled activity.

Katie has a new favorite song thanks to John. :) I guess they sang it at bedtime last night, and this morning she made him go down to the basement to try to find it on CD. He didn't find it so she ended up singing along to a You Tube recording of it. Of course it's that children's classic, "Squeeze box" by The Who. I'm sure that was the next song they were going to teach at preschool anyway. :)

John William!!!!

There's no use crying over spilled milk, or in this case spilled pancake mix. I was getting Katie's shoes on and came back around the corner to find this mess. Thankfully we were running a few minutes ahead of schedule and I was able to get him changed in time to go to school. Ugh. What a start to our day.

I've been tagged!

Ok, so I was 'tagged' in another friend's blog...I will reveal my secrets now...

1) 4 Places I go over and over: 1.various grocery stores...(one has good bulk items, one has great sushi, and the other has great sales), 2. Katie's preschool, 3. La Leche League meetings, 4. the kids' gym class.

2) 4 People who email me regularly: 1. 1-2 friends, 2. family, 3. facebook telling me one of my family or friends sent me a message, 4. junk

3) 4 of my favorite places to eat: 1. Happy Joe's...can't get enough of it. 2. Any Chinese restaurant...even better if it's a buffet, 3. Restaurant's like Baker's Square that offer free meals for kids certain days, 4. at home - it's cheaper and easier with kids.

4) 4 places I would rather be: 1. Key West, FL, 2. any place in the Caribbean, 3. still sleeping, 4. at a gym working out

5) 4 people I tag: hmmm...well, Shelley is the only one I know personally with a blog, but I will also mention John, Jamie, Janet and Sarah.

6) 4 TV shows I watch: The Office, The Daily Show, The View (Yes, when I can.), gosh...there aren't many others...John's discovered my closet obsession with EARLY Beverly Hills 90210...:) But I also like to watch Jon & Kate plus 8...that is until my voice starts to take on the nagging shrill quality that Kate's has. Then I better turn it off.

Apple Orchard

On Friday Katie, Will and I went to an apple orchard about 6 miles from our house. It was beautiful! The leaves were changing, it was bright sunny blue skies and no wind. The apple orchard was just the perfect size. I found out it's a family run business located right outside their front door. We enjoyed a wagon ride that took us out to pick apples, Katie fed a couple goats, we saw rabbits, and I finally got to enjoy a cup of hot apple cider.

Katie and Will picked 4-5 apples. (Yes, even Will was grabbin' 'em off the tree.) Thanks to Grandma Mary we didn't really need any more. She had bought us 2 bags the weekend before! However I DID receive an easy apple crisp recipe that we tried out last night, and it was very yummy.

Earlier that day we had gone to Will's gym class. I do have pictures, but Katie was much too busy to take many. Another little boy showed up because he didn't have school and He and Katie colored and drew pictures together for the entire hour. When they were about 18 months they were in gym class together. (If any of you remember us talking about Carter...) It was nice to see him again.

Other than that our weekend is pretty calm. The Obama sign has been re-erected across the street. I got Katie to settle on a Bumblebee Halloween costume. All is well.

Katie would pick 'em...

Will would eat 'em. (Till he started choking...we don't let him do that anymore.)

Oh yes, we also bought a pumpkin. There were so many great ones to choose from! A carving project for John in a few weeks.

Will was very interested in the hay.

Political Storm

It seems to be everywhere you look, so why not here too. It's no secret that I am a supporter of Obama/Biden. After the entertaining debate last night I feel even more secure in that decision. Sarah Palin's voice, fake smile and boring cliches are like nails on a chalkboard. We seem to be living in a McCain neighborhood - every house that has a sign in it's yard is a McCain sign...all but 2. After Tuesday night it was all but 1.
Our neighbors across the street erected a nice Obama sign a few weeks ago right by the flower bed in their front yard. I was relieved to see it. On Wednesday after I had picked Katie up from school and was pulling into our driveway I noticed that it wasn't there. I got a chance to talk to them yesterday and ask what happened. Turns out someone took it. They think it was some homecoming high school pranksters that not only possibly took their sign, but also toilet papered 2 houses on our street. Our neighbors have more signs ordered through the area DFL, but aren't sure when they are going to arrive.

On a brighter note, Katie doesn't have school today. Will still has his gym class, so Katie is going to accompany us to that. We'll see how that goes...she won't be able to play today since it's a class for 14-24 month olds. I told her that she could take pictures of Will's class, so if any of them turn out I'll share them with you this weekend.
Then, since it's supposed to be a sunny afternoon with no wind, we will try the apple orchard.

Busy weekend

We had nice busy weekend to finish out the month of September. John's mom visited us for a few days, and the kids had some quality grandma time. :) Saturday we all went to the MN Landscape Arboretum. It was not too crowded for a Saturday, and we had a great lunch and a nice walk looking at all the flowers. Will's favorite was probably the fountains scattered throughout the grounds. Katie's favorite was probably the fall pumpkin decorations. On Sunday we let John have some uninterrupted football time while the rest of us went to the local library for an hour or so. We love visitors and it was great to have Grandma Mary here for 4 days. Katie, of course, was sad when it was time to say good-bye, but she understood that Uncle Jim probably missed his mommy too - so she had to go make sure he was ok. :)

On a different note - wow I can't believe it's October 1st already!! Where the heck did last month go? As I turned over the calendar this morning it hit me that today is our friend Karlie's 3rd birthday!!! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARLIE! (Daughter of Laurel and Casey Hagensick) Katie is planning on making a card this afternoon - so hopefully we'll get it mailed so it isn't TOO late.

This is a short school week for Katie. She doesn't have school on Friday due to teacher conferences. I think we'll try to get to an apple orchard before it gets too cold. We have one nearby that offers free wagon rides and a petting zoo. I think I can brave the cold for that. :) (Yes, I think 55 degrees and below is cold.)

New topic...Happy Birthday Justin!

Hmmm...let me think of a new topic.....quick! :)

I know! Happy 19th Birthday to Justin Mezera! Geez 19...no big deal right? Not 18, not 21. :)

John is going to a Twins game tonight - should be pretty exciting...it's against the White Sox. The two teams are fighting each other for a playoff spot.

Katie had another church choir rehearsal yesterday evening. She likes singing and performing, I like the fact that it's free.

During a local supermarket grand opening 2 weeks ago I signed up for some giveaways and found out that I won $25 from a Nail Salon in Eden Prairie. I think I'm gonna check that place out on Friday and see if I can find some type of Christmas present for Katie. Lord knows we probably don't need nail polish, but maybe they have some other girly type things...and hey - it's free.

We are in search of Katie's Halloween costume. She changes her mind every day. So far it'll either be a turtle (I like that one), a chicken, a duck, or a superstar. I am hoping she keeps with an animal theme...then Will can wear it too. We'll have to see what pops up on Craigslist for used costumes. I'm trying to sell her cheerleader costume from last year and her ladybug costume from 2 years ago - so far...no luck, but it's pretty early.

Will has gotten into playing with his trucks and cars lately. Sometimes he does it with a bracelet on, but still. I've been wanting to get a picture of him pushing them around...this is as close as I have come. They are a little fuzzy, but I had to snap fast before he saw me. :)

EASY!

Gosh I can tell whose side you guys are on!

Someday we may get a bigger pet..one that moves freely through the house. I think it best to wait until we are sure that Will won't beat it into submission or sit on it and squash it. And even though Betty isn't furry and cuddly, she does beg like a dog. Every morning when Katie goes up to her bowl to feed her she swims right to the top, watches Katie, follows her fingers along the bowl, and waits. Katie drops the food pieces in and CHOMP! You'd think she had teeth. That's all the animal excitement we can take.

I wish I had a kitty

We had an unexpected visitor at our house after lunch today. I was at the kitchen sink washing dishes, looked out the window and there was a cat laying on the deck. I held Katie up to see it and tapped on the window expecting it to run away, but it just laid there. We peeked at it through the door and I even brought Will over to see her. I thought "she'll run away once Will starts screaming at her and banging the window." Nope - if anything she wanted to come INSIDE. She meowed at the door, put her paws to the window, etc. It was very cute. I took some pictures so you could see her...she reminds me of Jane - a cat that Jim and Grandma Mary had out at the farm. Also reminds me of Smokey, a cat Grandpa and Grandma Lyla had - except I think she was a girl. No collar, no tags so I'm not sure where she came from.

A little later we went downstairs so Will could take a nap and after a while - there she was peering in the window. :) Katie kept saying "I wish we had a kitty." I explained we don't know this cat so we can't let it inside, and I think Betty (fish) is scared of cats (thankfully). I haven't seen her for an hour or so, so she probably went on to her next house...it was a nice visit though.

A step backward

I knew it. As soon as I made it public that Will was sleeping better, he would prove me wrong. The last 3 nights have been giant steps backward. Every night Will has woken at least 3-4 times. I usually let him cry for 10-15 minutes now before I get up and each time he was screaming til I sent to get him. He just wants to rock and nurse for 10-15 minutes and then he is back asleep. Hopefully it's just a phase - I think some back molars are working their way through. Seems that's my excuse for everything. :)

So Katie and John went golfing on Saturday and had a great time. They had a trophy that you could take pictures with, and Katie got fruit snacks to bring home.



Saturday night was going to be pretty calm weather wise so John offered to take Katie camping in the backyard. We all sat outside around the fire until Will had to go to bed...inside. Then John and Katie amused themselves with the fire and slept ALL NIGHT in the tent. He and Katie came into the house about 7:15 am the next morning. Of course Will and I were already awake because he decided that he wanted to get up at 6:30.

Our camping site in the far corner of our backyard.

Will was able to climb in these chairs all by himself. He would climb in them, sit for 2 minutes, climb down and move on to the next chair to do it again.

Yesterday the kids and I went to church and Sunday school. At noon the church was having a 'family reunion picnic.' It's an annual picnic lunch with games, a water slide, music, and a silent auction. All four of us went to that at noon and it was great! The weather cooperated so nicely! Katie tried the water for the water slide, but it was too cold. Then she got REALLY upset when some water slashed on her. Ok - so no slide. :) But she did play with hula hoops, basketballs, and jumped in the inflatable jumping houses. Everything was free and there wasn't very many people there at all. I think it is a fairly small congregation anyway and I am very impressed with the things they are able to offer and do for the community.

Katie jumping, while John looks on.

Will liked dancing to the music and basically just checking things out. Here's his disco pose.

She's learning something...

One of the fun things about preschool is having Katie come home and spontaneously break into a new funny song that I haven't heard before. This is one of them.
The stars at night go twink-a-link-a-link
Way up in the sky.
The moon at night goes blink-a-link-a-link
It shines right in my eye.
The skunk at night goes stink-a-link-a-link
I wish she'd go right by.
The twink-a-link-a-link, the blink-a-link-a link, the stink-a-link-a-link,
Oh my!


Yesterday was so beautiful! Katie, Will and I had a picnic lunch after school with most of her classmates from last year. One unknown parent remarked how amazing it is that we are all still so close. I spose it is unusual, but we had such a great class of kids that got along so well with each other and all stay at home moms (and one nanny) that could squeeze play dates into their schedule. :) We'll have another picnic in the spring and hopefully it will be even bigger because of all the new connections we make this year.

Will had his second gym class yesterday as well. He only lightly slapped two kids, and one of the girls that he 'hit' tried to kiss him during the puppet show so I think she had forgotten about it. :) He was having none of the kisses though - he kept pushing her away. It figures - that's what I get when I try to give him kisses too. :)

Today John and Katie are taking part in a pee-wee golf tournament for 3-5 year olds. John is Katie's caddy and official picture taker. I'll share them tomorrow hopefully.

Odds and Ends

There are lots of things I think to write about as I'm doing my day to day activities, but then I sit down at the computer and usually draw a blank. I think every now and then I will write about something other than the kids...so bear with me. :) I may give you a little background on myself, or post one of those survey things that make their way around the e-mail world...or better yet, have John post something. :)

First I want to announce a breakthrough on our end. Will's sleeping situation has gotten infinitely better in the last week or so. We changed up his nap time, put him to bed a little earlier, and BAM...he sleeps from 7:30 to 4 or 5 am...wakes for 10 minutes or so, nurses then goes right back to sleep til 7-7:30. I had been putting him down for a nap after lunch with Katie. Then one morning he fell asleep earlier - like 10:30 am...slept a few hours, and then had a great night. So far so good...I love sleeping at night again. I've only been getting up 2 or more times a night for the last 17 months (if you count bathroom breaks in pregnancy!)

Today Katie and I created a little chore chart for her. We put about 6 daily 'chores' on there that she gets to put stickers on if she completes them every day. For example, she is very good about putting her plate in the dishwasher after meals - so that is on there. Help set the table, clear the table, pick up toys, and brush teeth also made the list. Katie is wonderful, but I wish she would help out more with things like this - I think this will help. Then when she gets like 20 stickers or something like that - she gets to do something special like golf with dad, go bowling with mom, etc. I think rewarding with special time is more important than a toy or food treat...and cheaper too.

I actually wish I had a chore chart for myself. I think that if I had a list of all my daily 'chores' up on the wall I would get excited to put a sticker by them as I finished them.

That's Will, the climber. He climbs up on the table now so he can have a closer look at Betty, the fish. (She is doing great, by the way! Hey...feed the fish...there's another chore for Katie's chart!)

When I say 'closer look' I mean a WAYYYY closer look.

Katie is also very proud of the fact that she has mastered the art of 'pumping'.

Wet weekend

John is back from his golfing trip and we were all happy to see him. He had a good time, and at least it didn't snow on him like it did last year at this time. :)

While John was gone the kids and I tried to keep as busy as possible so that we wouldn't go stir crazy. Katie had school Friday. Will joined his first gym class. And Katie had a birthday party that afternoon for one of her classmates from last year. By 5:30 when we got home we were tuckered out.

Saturday brought rain...but we didn't let that dampen our plans. The kids and I swung by a local grocery store's grand opening after lunch. It didn't turn out to be much fun, but we did score a free piece of pie. Then we headed to Hyland Park for the annual Children's Book Festival sponsored by Target. This is our third trip to the event and it's always been fun. Most of the sponsors give really neat things away to the kids, not to mention the authors you can meet and characters you can get pictures with. There was constant drizzle in the air, but the temperature was pretty warm so we didn't mind it. Katie and I each had an umbrella, and Will had the hood of the stroller for protection. Katie ended up coming home with a couple jump ropes, a couple book bags to draw on, Play Dough, and other odds and ends. We had a good time, but would rather have sunny weather for next year.


Now it's Sunday - John got to relax from his trip while I took the kids to church this morning. Katie had a great time at Sunday school. Every month the church asks the kids to bring a different food item to stock at the local food shelf. September is peanut butter month so Katie took a jar of peanut butter with her. She asked what it was for so I explained that we were giving the peanut butter to the church so they could give it to a family that didn't have enough money to buy peanut butter. She looked at me kind of surprised and said "They don't have peanut butter?!?!" Then before I could respond she walked away and said "Well, I hope they have bread!"

I took Will to the nursery for church. Instead of fight with him for an hour to sit still, he gets to play with other babies, and I get to have some time to myself. :) The other day Will found a baby doll of Katie's. He hasn't really been interested in them at all, but that day he carried her around for about an hour. Then I gave him a bottle to feed her. It was WAY too cute. :)

"Why the heck did I do this?"

New church?

Whew. I finally have a minute after things have finally calmed down this week. With Katie's first day of school and adjusting to that new schedule, things have been a little rushed.

Last Sunday, Katie and I went to a new Lutheran ELCA church here in Chanhassen. I've been meaning to check out a few churches in the area since we moved, but time has gotten away from us. And the few that we had seen were just TOO big. I like the feel of a small local church. Sunday school started this past week so I thought what a perfect time to take a look at this new one. I spoke to some people Sunday morning who got Katie involved right away. She was very happy. They suggested that I attend with her that first day, just to make sure. What a flashback it was for me. They sang some songs before breaking into their classrooms. Katie and I rocked out to "Jesus Loves Me" and "Father Abraham." I remember what a FUN song "Father Abraham" was when I was little, and it still holds true today. Katie and the other kids were laughing and having a great time with it. So far, I like what I see. Everyone was very welcoming and approachable - sometimes you don't get that with Lutherans. :)

They also have a children's choir for 3-5 year olds that meets every Wednesday for 30 minutes. I thought that would be right up Katie's alley - we'll try that next week. Hopefully we start to meet people in the neighborhood and maybe we'll see some familiar faces at kindergarten next year. But c'mon a group of 3-5 year olds singing...how cute is that?