Lucky, lucky girl

Fall Festival

Thursday night we attended the kids' fall festival at their school.  The kids were able to dress in their Halloween costumes and do some fun crafts and games and such.

Little Man was a mighty cute dragon and Madtown was a Dragonfly Fairy.

 
Madtown decorated a sugar cookie (and proceeded to eat it of course).

 
She ghost-bowled...

 
...and "fished" for treats.

 
Little Man visited with some of his favorite teachers (like Miss Pam)...

 

...and got his first tatoo (we start them young in our house).

 
One of Madtown's highlights, too, was getting her vampire teeth.

 
Now I am looking forward to our other halloween activities. What a fun time of year!

Happy Birthday to me.

I celebrated my thirty-somethingish birthday on Saturday, and I have to admit - it was a pretty perfect day. First off, I woke up to an empty house. Now, while this isn't perfect for everyone, getting to take a shower without a certain 1 year old either pulling at the shower curtain or banging on the bathroom door was heaven.

Ryan took me, the kids and my mom (my grandparents had been invited, but my grandpa, who suffers from Parkinson's, was having trouble walking that day) to Dixie's in St. Paul for lunch.  I love Dixie's. It's good southern food (the chef trained under Emeril) with in a restaurant with a southern feel.  I ate a fabulous Kentucky pot-roast with mash potatoes and black-eyed peas (something that always reminds me of visiting my dad's site of the family in Texas).

 

Little Man was well-behaved and tried a little bit of everything (loving the coconut shrimp, black eyed peas and french fries - not so much liking my pot-roast.

 
Madeline really didn't have an interest in eating - she pretty much colored the entire time - but was well behaved and earned the opportunity to blow the horn on the train that went around the top of the bar. Pretty cool.

 

 
After lunch, we had the cake that Madtown and Ryan had made.  The kids helped me to blow out the candles.

 

 
After naps and spending some time outside, Ryan took me to see Inception (the Leonardo DeCaprio movie) at the Riverside - a cool local theater with a decidedly retro vibe. Very good movie.

A great way to spend a birthday.

State Fair.

We hadn't been to the Minnesota State Fair in years.  Not since before Madtown was born.  We had decided we were going to go this year, though, now that Madtown was old enough to really enjoy it and enjoy the rides.

While we weren't there for an enormous amount of time, we had a fabulous time. We started out by visiting the animal barns - seeing cows, horses, and sheep.

Ryan and Mad went on the River Ride (twice!), which might have been the highlight of her day.

Mad and I went down the big slide. She had been looking forward to that for days - ever since she saw it on the news. I actually had never been down the big slide, and it might have been as much fun for me as it was for her.

Of course, no trip to the Fair is complete without a pronto pup.

And, of course, Mad had to ride the carousel.

One of the highlights was the baby animal barn. Although it was insanely crowded inside, it was worth it to pet a piglet, a calf, and see the tiny, sweet sheep.

Little Man enjoyed seeing all the people, and eating his pronto pup.  Of course, the fair is a heck of a lot for a nearly one year old, so he didn't last all that much longer after that.

Maybe he will  last a little longer next year. Smile.

Happy Birthday to a Special Gentleman.

We celebrated my grandpa's 86th birthday yesterday.

My brother's girlfriend said that he is "history in the making." I am just happy to know him and that my kids get to know their great-grandfather. 

We had such a great afternoon and were so glad to be a part of the celebration. I am continually reminded how lucky we are that we get to spend so much time with my grandparents. 

The celebration was at my mom's house. My brother Kevin and his girlfriend were there.  My brother Eric and his daughter were there for cake. 

Madtown was so excited to be there - she adores her grandparents, uncles (and my brother's girlfriend) and her cousin. And, as always, Little Man reveled in all the attention.  It was a wonderful birthday, if I do say so myself (even if the cake was so moist it broke on the drive over). She even got to help blow out Papa's candles. 

And, of course, my Grammy didn't have a bad time either. Smile.

Happy Birthday Papa!  We are looking forward to many more with you.

The Fifth.

We had an amazing Fourth of July. Busy, too - so much so that I barely had a moment to take photos.  Ryan did a shrimp boil (so good, and even impressed my grandparents who were born and raised in Louisiana) which was wonderful and spicy. 

Madtown loved reading with her two Grammys after dinner (a highlight of any day) and the boys (Ryan, his dad and my brother in particular) enjoyed scotch and conversation.

 

Madtown and Little Man saw their first fireworks (and both were remarkably amiable being that we woke Little Man up and Madtown was wired and up WAY past her bedtime) amidst millions of mosquitoes. We were all suitably impressed and pleased.

   
(excuse the flash photos - you kind of HAVE to use it when you are in a field with no lights waiting for fireworks to start).

This morning, thankfully, both kids decided to sleep in until 8 AM. Thank goodness for little miracles.  It's hot and muggy out so we are hoping to enjoy some good time at the pool.

I love summer.

Enjoying time.

As I near the end of my time at home, I am focusing on all of the wonderful aspects of being here. Not everyone is as lucky as I am to get this time and I am making the most of it. It will certainly be hard to give it up as I start my job hunt again next month.  I cannot help but love all this dedicated time with my family.  

Little Man is terribly active. He doesn't stop moving and exploring and he is keeping up on our toes. We had his nine-month portraits taken this morning and the poor girl had to chase him all around with her camera.  Of course, though, he is always easy with the smiles.

 

Madtown starts dance class tonight.  She was in her tutu and ballet slippers this morning for photos and I sometimes cannot believe how quickly she has grown. My baby is gone. Of course, that baby has been replaced by a smart and funny and wonderful girl who is just a joy to be around. I can't really complain.

 

Of course, our furry one is already and old lady - not that you would know it. She really is my first born, though, and I honestly love her like she is one of the kids.  If I had my way, she would live forever and I refuse to think of a day when she won't be with us.

 
The time is so fleeting. They are growing so fast.  I do what I can to stop and just enjoy them. As a great singer once sang: If I could save time in a bottle...

Hope you are enjoying your summer so far as well.
 

Target Field.

I feel like I have been so absent from my little blog lately.  We have been keeping ourselves just so very busy here and I have been readjusting to having both kids home with me (it's quite a bit busier here with a 4 year old).  With the exception of the rainy weather that prohibits park/playground trips and keeps us (mostly) indoors, we have been thoroughly enjoying the summer break so far.

Sunday, we went to our first Twin's game at Target Field.  It was my first game in years and years and years and Madtown's first ever (Little Man stayed home with Grammy - we didn't think a VERY active 9 month old would appreciate being confined to our seats much).  

Ryan was already downtown for his students' graduation, so Madtown and I took the light rail from the Mall of America. She LOVED riding the train - looking out the window and coloring in her seat.

Even though the train stopped right near our gate, we walked around the park so that we could get enter through the plaza. It was a gorgeous site. I adore outdoor baseball and have been hoping to go to a Twin's game in an outdoor field since seeing the Brewer's back in high school with my friend Jen.

Of course,Ryan and Madtown had to have their picture taken in the big glove.

Our seats were fabulous. We got them through the teacher's union and couldn't have asked for a better view. We looked right into downtown (and now I am excited for our next - and night - game).

Madeline loved getting a hot dog, coloring in her seat (sense a trend here - coloring is the big thing lately - it's all she does), and looking at the field over the rail (which freaked me out, by the way - not so good with rails). They also scored one home run, so she loved seeing the fireworks and proceeded to ask when they were going to score another one the rest of the game (we were all hoping for that!).

We took the light rail back home and, even though the trains were packed, I think Madtown was just as thrilled with it on the ride back.

She was also very, very excited to get home and tell Little Man all about it.

A fabulous start to the summer break.

Water Babies.

Our kids did not come into this world loving water like some kids.  For the first 12 months of her life, Madtown screamed bloody murder when we put her in the tub.  She hated it.  We bought a pool for the backyard - she hated that even more.  We reluctantly tried the zero depth pool anyway, and a general like for the water was born.  Mind you - not a love.  She liked the water, but only wanted to be on the edges and wanted nothing to do with getting her hair or face wet. 

I took her to swim lessons last spring and we ventured into the big pool on summer day when the zero depth was closed (darn people without swim diapers) and she started to really like being in the water.  Still didn't want her hair or face wet (we forced her anyway), but a LITTLE progress was made.

Then we did swim class this spring through Foss. I love Foss.  It was money well spent and I watched my little water girl swim with the barbell by herself, blow bubbles in the water unprompted and do her first backfloat by herself.  Of course, she is still not happy about putting her face in the water, but we will work on that.

I had hoped that Little Man would like water more. At least he didn't scream at first in the tub. That developed after about a month.  I braced myself for lots of sad, sad baths and a long adjustment to the pool. 

However, to my joy and amazement, after a shower with Ryan on Saturday, we have developed our first water baby. Saturday evening (after a request from Madtown), he got into the tub with her and LOVED it.  He splashed and splashed.  Only trouble now is that he keeps trying to put his whole face in the water.  I guess we will work on that (or foster it, I guess). 

So, for now at least, I am going to thoroughly enjoy my two water babies.  After this weekend, if it is nice out, just find us at the pool. That's where we will be (and maybe Madtown will even try the slide - we can hope!).

We read.

Grammy often tells me something her father used to say: If you have a book, you will never be lonely.

We got Madtown’s preschool assessment yesterday. It outlines different areas of social, cognitive  and physical development and assesses where she is developmentally.  Of course, we weren’t surprised at how well she is doing.  I wouldn’t doubt many parents think that their child is gifted, talented, smart, wonderful…  I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t admit how great it feels to hear a teacher to validate those feelings. To tell you how great your child is.  As expected, we heard how great Madtown is doing on sharing, cooperation and listening (we hear this quite often from her teachers).  They shared that she is ahead of her peers on these items and that they often use her as an example of these items.  (In confidence, her teacher also told me that, while they do not have favorites, if the did, Madtown is certainly theirs.)  It was a glowing review.  

Again, we were not surprised.  However, what might have surprised us a bit was her “Story Sense.”  Story Sense included items that will be “emerging” or “not yet” at her age.  Items that will continue to develop through preschool, and to build later in Kindergarten and elementary school.  We were, then, surprised to see “almost mastered” checked.  Of course, we are not surprised that she tells stories with beginning, middle and end (“I just need to finish the story” is often heard when she is acting something out with her dolls), but that this is ahead of the game.  It reminded me of something we truly value in this household, and how it is helping her.

 
We read. A lot. We love to read in this house.  When I was pregnant with Madtown, we made a pact that we were do our best to instill a love of reading in our children.  Ryan and I read nearly every evening after crawling into bed.  We read curled up on the couch when the kids are napping.  We read bedtime stories to the kids (yes, even Little Man, since he was old enough to sit in our lap). We read all day long. We visit the library on a regular basis so that the kids have fresh books to read.  Madtown “reads” to Little Man, and we encourage her to make up the stories to go with the pictures since she does not yet know the words. 

I knew this love of reading would be good for them as people. It is something that, I hope, that they will enjoy all of their days.  It just is icing on the cake that it is so good for their development as well.

 

We’re proud of you, sweet girl. Keep it going!

Easter.

Easter dinner was hosted by my mom again this year.  She does such a fantastic job making events fun for all the kids - quite the feat, really, when the five of them range in ages from 15 years to 6 months.  Of course, this one has fun as long as her cousins are there (or even if they aren't - she pretty much could have fun in a tin can).

 
And, this one just needs someone to pay attention to him - which everyone does.

 
We got to my mom's first and Madtown was thrilled to be able to blow bubbles on the porch (and spill about 1/2 the bubble solution on the floor).

 
This one got lots of great-Grammy loves.

 
Once the rest of the family got there, the kids had the egg hunt. Madtown was thrilled that she had pink eggs.

  
I am not sure that Wes or Sheridan ever found all their eggs (sometimes my mom and Grammy are just a little TOO good at hiding them). Collin somehow ended up with 11 or 12 eggs instead of 10, not that he was complaining.

After the egg hunt, they had a treasure hunt.  Apparently, the hunt was a bit faulty, though (missing one clue, something screwy with the map...), but Ryan was able to point them in the right direction (Northwest, to be precise).

   
Madtown kept running around saying "Look! It's a clue!"  Apparently, we have watched Blue's Clue's one too many times.

I tried to get a photo of my nephew Collin smiling - he is an elusive one!

After dinner, the kids got to split up an Easter basket that my brother had given my mom, with the youngest (Madtown) picking first.  Luckily, what each kid REALLY wanted was not wanted by any of the others, so they all were thrilled. Madtown really wanted the pinwheel and getting that ended up being her favorite part of the day.

 
We honestly could not have had a better Easter. I hope yours was as wonderful.