Trip to the Farm

My mom came for a visit in August, and one of the highlights of our trip was going to the farm. I thought I would share a few pictures of our adventures. We saw plenty of "real" farm animals, but our favorite by far were the the cats. Yes, that is a picture of my sweet little girl, having a time out on the farm.

Labor Day weekend

We went Up North for one last time this summer, and it was great weekend. The water was a little cool, but it didn't stop us from playing in the sand and even jumping off the dock. Actually, the kids jumped into the water while I stood about waist-deep in the lake, hoping I wouldn't get splashed too much.

The other big part of the weekend was our 2007 Fantasy Football Draft. Steve's family has a friendly fantasy football league, and I love it! Before I participated in the league, football season was often painful and excruciatingly long. Don't get me wrong...I love football. But I'm also married to a man who LOVES football. Before we had kids, we turned football early in the morning on Sundays (pre-game show) and then we watched until late at night. He'll watch anything, though his team of choice is the Chicago Bears.

Anyway, football season is much more fun now that I play fantasy. (It probably doesn't hurt that I won our league last year, too!)

So in this year's draft, I was thrilled to pick up Peyton Manning with my first pick. I also picked up the Bears Defense, another one of my favorite picks this season. As many of you know, we have a little bit of football rivalry in the family. Steve likes the Bears and I like the Colts (because of Peyton). The kids have apposing jerseys, so I snapped this picture of the two of them sitting together. Wouldn't it be great to see the real Manning and Urlacher, sharing a moment like this?

Baseball Jack

So I'm really getting fancy with this blog now. I have a video of Jack to share! I'm so impressed with myself. I'm like one of those young kids with the technology!

Back to the purpose of the video, though...Jack is a big fan of playing baseball. Sometimes he likes to play catch with his mitt. But lately, he's been wanting to hit. We tried throwing him a baseball-sized ball at first, but that's hard to hit for a little guy! Now, we use a giant purple ball which works out much better. He's getting to be pretty good with his timing and stance!

By the way, for anyone who knows Steve, this makes him VERY proud. In fact, as I'm typing this, Steve is sitting here, watching baseball and reading a book about fantasy baseball. (I'm really not making this up.)

Anyway, we think Jack might be left-handed, but he bats like he's a righty. Oooo, maybe he'll be a switch hitter.

Okay, okay...back to the video. Well, I'll let you watch it yourself. This is what happened during a recent "batting practice" in the living room.

Sick girl update

So for anyone out there biting your fingernails to find out what's wrong with Anna...she has hand, foot and mouth disease. (Don't worry, it sounds much worse than it really is.)

Actually, it is pretty icky. She's got a sore throat, mouth sores and spots on her hands and feet. They can't do anything to actually treat it, which means no real antibiotics. But for now, we have this over-the-counter mixture that the doctor recommended. You know, a little bit of this...a little bit of that. It's all good. I just hope I got the right medicine. When we went to Walgreens, the lights were completely out so one of the employees had to help me find the medicine with a flashlight.

Anyway, she's fast asleep now. She looks so peaceful. It's hard for me to imagine that she's the same girl who was crying in the doctor's office earlier.

For any worrisome grandparents out there, she'll be fine. This is not to be confused with "Hoof and Mouth Disease," commonly associated with cattle. I looked it up, and it turns out when an animal gets this similar disease, the owner usually kills it and burns its carcass. (Harsh, but that's what it said.)

I'm glad the treatment for Anna is less severe. Hopefully with a few days of ice cream, yogurt and our secret mixture, she'll be good as new!

Sick girl=cranky girl

We should be embarrassed that it's been so long since a posting about our dear little fam. Steve has been falling down on the job, so I'm taking over. My pal, Am, recently started a blog, so she's inspired me to write about our own family, too.

So what's up with the title of this entry, right? Well, I'm home with Anna today. She's sick. And let me tell you, this girl knows exactly what she does (and doesn't) want. She's not shy about telling you.

This morning she spent a good 5 minutes in the corner because neither Steve nor I could understand what she wanted, and frankly, she'd rather hang out by herself than to be around her slacker parents. (I could just imagine her thinking, I'm so misunderstood!)

Actually, I don't want to give her a bad rap because she's pretty darn cute, too. In fact, she's especially adorable right now as she's watching Curious George in honor of her sick day.

We're going to the doctor soon, so I'll report after that.

Oh yeah, I'll give a family update at some point, too. After all, it's been an entire YEAR since our last blog. Something must have happened by now, right?

Of Spare Tires and Swing Sets

Every morning, I have the kids to myself for about an hour. Stacy leaves for work at about 6:30, and I bundle Jack and Annabelle into the car around 7:45 for day care. Stacy then picks up the kids at 4. We worked this out to both save a litle money and to minimize the amount of time the kids need to be at day care, but I have found the best reason to be the time I get every morning with them.

I've been known to spend the time watching Barney (or SportsCenter) with them, or fruitlessly encouraging Jack to eat some breakfast while Anna tries to take a quick morning nap. Some mornings, they're both a little cranky and I spend the whole time comforting one or the other. Most mornings, though, we spend playing with toys in the living room, or reading books, or playing with the dogs, or any number of things.

This morning, we played on the swing set.

Last Wednesday, I was diligently working when my mom called. She had just been at the Toys R Us store near our house and bought the kids a play set. She had misread the size of the boxes it came in, and realized that she wouldn't be able to fit them into her car. She made arrangements with the store to allow me to pick up the boxes after work. She left the receipt in a top-secret location at the house, along with a bonus present for Jack to find on the deck.



As 4 o'clock neared, my phone rang again, interrupting more diligent work. Have I mentioned that I work diligently? It was Stacy, and she had a flat tire. Within the space of a couple minutes, it became clear that I was going to have to leave work early to take care of that indolent tire (indolent? Can a deflated tire be indolent? Sure, why not...it's definitely not doing its job). I told Stacy I was on the way. At the very least, I thought, I could swing by Toys R Us and get the play set after changing the tire, and would probably get home early as a bonus.

I arrived to find the front passenger-side tire completely deflated, and resting on the rim. There was a brief adventure while I tracked down the jack and the spare tire. If the manual wasn't in the glove compartment, I never would have found the tire. I may send an email to US Customs to inform the border patrol of that clever hiding spot in the Honda Odyssey. I bet all kinds of Canadian Bacon is being smuggled over the border in minivans, even as you read this.

The van sat at a slight incline, but since I had no pieces of wood to block the tires, I gave the jack the old college try. Unfortunately, college doesn't work out for everyone. I had the van fall off the jack twice before Stacy offered to "borrow" a lanscaping brick. It was sufficient to keep the van from rolling until the spare could be attached. Stacy took the van to the local service station, and I left to pick up the kids.

There was no getting home early. I guess dropping a van off the jack a couple of times really increases the changing time of a tire. I would never make it on Bobby the Bunny's crew.

I had just enough energy left after the tire-changing ordeal to pick up the play set, and then transfer the boxes from my truck to the garage. The boxes just barely fit in the truck. I thought that must be a pretty big play set, but there was no way it would be put together that night.

The following night, we cleaned the house and packed for a long 4th of July weekend at the lake, so the play set was left in the garage.

Unfortunately, no one broke into the garage while we were gone and assembled the play set. Maybe I should have left the garage door open. Oh well, it was time to get to work. Diligently.

I emptied the two boxes across the garage floor and driveway. The hardware bag was missing an instruction manual, but the miracle of the Internets allowed me to print out a new manual from the manufacturer web site. I probably should have taken inventory of all the pieces at that point, but there were SO MANY PIECES. How could any be missing?

I gathered up the recommended tools and set to building. The slide platform almost assembled itself, it was such a smooth process. Then, the instructions said to install the slide platform support/cupholder bar. Cupholder? On a swing set? These kids nowadays don't know how good they have it. "But what if it's not for the kids?" I thought to myself.



Now that's smart engineering.

Right around this time I discovered that some pieces were, in fact, missing. Important pieces, actually. The big bars that go across the top and support the swings. I was prepared to call the 800 number in the instructions to get the missing parts, but Stacy insisted that the store should have the parts on hand. No way, I said. She was pretty insistent, and called the store herself. Turns out they did have the pieces on hand. Score one point for her (I know you're reading this--stop gloating. I can feel your look).

I picked up the missing parts, and the rest of the build was a piece of cake. Well, kind of a big cake that takes a long time to bake if the cook isn't very skilled with wrenches and hammers and such. I'm not sure if that qualifies as mixing or torturing the metaphor, but in either case it can't be good for the metaphor to be treated in such a fashion.

Finally, just before bedtime, the kids were able to take it for a spin.




This morning, Jack dried off the slide with his pants, and gave the glider swing a good riding. It looks like the swing set is going to be a regular part of our morning routine this summer.

Thank you, Grandma.

Abominable! Can you believe that? Do I Look Abominable to You?

Oh, the neglect this blog is forced to endure. I am amazed that it is able to maintain a positive outlook.

After some adjustment to the natural order of things with two children (primarily by the daddy), our house has settled into a regular, if hectic, routine. Annabelle has been nominated as best baby in the entire world by settling into a regular full-night sleeping schedule back in January. She goes down at 7 or 8 at night, and sleeps until 5 or 6 each morning. Not only that, but she's the smiling-est little girl you'll come across. She spends her days sleeping, then smiling, then having a look around, and then smiling some more. I should have the picture page updated in a few days, and there will be several smiles on display.

Oh, but there's a dark side. When that girl does not get what she wants, when she wants it, she has a voice that could shatter glass. Fortunately, we've managed to appease her before the glass-breaking stage so far, but it's been close. I remember back when Jack was a few months old, and that I thought his little crying was so cute. Anna has never had a "cute" cry. She could audition to be an Amish air-raid siren.

Jack turned into a little boy one day a couple weeks ago. One night, I put my baby to bed, and the next morning a little boy woke up. He is obsessed with Monsters, Inc. and Barney, and sings along to songs from his music class. He seems to know exactly what I'm saying all the time (although he's clever enough to pretend he doesn't hear much of it, especially when it starts with "Stop that" or "No"). His 2nd birthday party is tomorrow, and the theme is "March Madness." All of the food is going to be his favorites - taco dip, pickles, juice, the works. We're going to make homemade ice cream and have fun building sundaes, too. Sure sounds like some March Madness to me.

Another Big One

Annabelle had her 2 month doctor appointment yesterday, and she's following in the footsteps of her older brother. Perfectly healthy, and 14 pounds now -- 95th percentile, just like Jack.

Settling In

Jack started back to daycare yesterday. We figured he would be happier if he started back part-time, so he's going to be going Tuesdays and Thursdays this month, and then he and Annabelle will be in full-time at the end of this month. Everyone was very excited to see him, and it only took him about 20 minutes to settle back into the room. Before he left, he used to spend all his time with Maya, but it looks like she wasn't willing to wait for him. He spent most of the day yesterday chasing Gabriella around the room. At least he took it well, and moved on.

Anna is a little angel. She's already staying awake for a good part of the day, and sleeping most of the night. There is the small matter of the groaning, though. If she's awake, she's groaning. If she's falling asleep, she's groaning. If she's deeply asleep, she moans periodically. Whatever it is that she's trying to say, seems pretty important. She's been growing quickly, and will have another doctor appointment pretty soon, and I'll be able to report some measurements.

We had a nice Christmas season, and even made a day trip up to Appleton on Christmas Eve, where Santa paid us a visit. Jack was very intrigued by him, but was careful to maintain a safe distance. Ian was initially cautious, but much like Ralphie, he was able to regain his composure in time and rattle of some requests. No Red Ryder BB guns, though.

And baby makes four

First things first. Even though the blog updates have been AWOL, we've managed to keep the photo pages updated in a reasonable manner.



Annabelle Marie was born on November 21st, and weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce. At her two-week checkup yesterday, she weighed in at 9 pounds, 6 ounces, which is a good healthy gain for a little squirt, especially after losing about 10 ounces initially. We're still auditioning "Chili Bean" for her, but that may be more of a literary name for the blog. In actual conversation, she's been known as Peanut.

We had plenty of company to help us celebrate Anna's arrival, and Thansgiving dinner.

A friend recommended a photographer to Stacy, and so she arranged for Jack and Annabelle to have their pictures taken. The photographer came to our house with her equipment, and did a really good job. The results speak for themselves, I think.

Jack has been pretty excited to have a new sister around the house. He's eager to hug her, give her kisses, replace her pacifier...anything he can do to help. He's having a slightly harder time being home all day, instead of at day care. Mommy and Daddy just don't have the same energy level as his regular playmates, I think. In January, he's going to go back two days a week so he doesn't miss out on too much of the fun.

Force Ten

Some wild times around Rancho Tornio. Jack picked up some bug from Stacy last week, which caused him to be sent home from daycare on Thursday with a fever, and a Friday off with Daddy. Aside from the fever and some messy-diaper-related issues, he didn't have any other symptoms and was pretty much ok with life. The fever finally broke Saturday night, and we had a good Football Day. Jack learned to say, "Go Bears," although they apparently didn't hear him.

I wanted to present a brief list of Jack's favorite things. I know that the holidays are coming up, and many people are interested in buying the boy a present or two, so here's the stuff:

1. Lions - Jack really like likes jungle animals, especially lions. He can't get enough of Hakuna Matata. Note that I didn't say The Lion King. He doesn't yet have the patience to watch all of the movie, but he loves the section from Hakuna Matata through Can You Feel the Love Tonight? I'm pretty sure it's because he likes to watch the lions.
2. Planes and helicopters - His favorite part of riding in the convertible is to look up in the sky for airplanes and helicopters, and one of his favorite books is a flying machines book.
3. Balls - All kinds of balls.
4. Horses - Loves horses. Loves 'em.
5. Apples - Right up there with horses.

We went to Apple Holler on Saturday, and had a good time picking apples, even in the midst of recurring fevers for the boy. We'll have pictures posted soon of Jack two-fisting it through the orchard with an apple in each hand.

Da Bears!

How 'bout dem NFC North leaders?

What a talker!

I asked Steve to give me access to his blog, so I could jot down memories of Jack and Annabelle, too. My mom tells me that I will forget this little moments if I don't write them down, so here's my first one to get me started. -Stacy

Jack is really talking a lot these days. He will repeat anything, and he knows quite a few words on his own as well. Among his favorites...

Dog! Wolf, wolf, wolf, wolf, wolf.

Sasha. Meow.

Baby (which can include stuffed animals and "real" babies, like the one next door).

Eye (then he pokes your eye, in case you didn't know where it's located).

Truck...vroom, vroom, vroom.

Airplane and birdy (then he points to the sky).

Garbage.

Potty (because he thinks it's fun to try his potty seat).

And of course, Mommy and Daddy. Mommy is what he calls out when he first wakes up, and Daddy is what he says when he wants someone to read him a book.

Pigs on the Wing

I get up around 5 or 5:10 every morning. I get up, let Homer out, pour a cup of coffee and sit down to read my email. I usually have a enough time to get through my email and check a couple web sites before Stacy gets up for her shower, which is always closely followed by Jack's announcement that he is ready to get up. For twenty minutes or so, Jack and I hang out.

First thing, we feed the fish, and watch them go into a frenzy over those sweet, sweet flakes. mmmmmm....tetra flakes. Then, we hang out and read a few books, maybe play with a few toys.

This morning, I started the "This little piggy" game on his toes. The first couple of times through, Jack looked at me like I was a nut. I figured it wasn't appealing to him, so I picked up the book we had been reading and opened it.

Jack looked at me, raised his foot, and said "wee wee wee."

Bit Rate Variations in B-Flat

Stacy's company has a summer hours program, where the hours are adjusted a little longer for Monday through Thursday, and then everyone works a half day on Friday. It's a pretty sweet deal, and I'll vote for any candidate that proposes to make it law. The downside to this deal is that since she starts work later on Friday, she takes Jack in to daycare. You might be thinking, "More time at home in the morning before daycare, how can this be a downside?" and for the most part, you would be right. The downside is that Jack is in uber-momma's-boy mode, and does not like it when I take him out of the house in the morning, or if she leaves the house for any reason, or leaves the room momentarily, or anything that causes Jack to lose eye contact with the precious Mommy. He and I have worked out a daycare drop-off system where he is briefly upset to see me go, but he's usually over it a few seconds after I leave the room.

So Stacy takes Jack in on Friday morning, and of course he doesn't want her to leave. It turns out that this later drop-off time coincides with his regular breakfast, so she stays with him for some breakfast and meets his good friend Wally. "Wally" is one of Jack's words. This really only delays the inevitable, but it was a nice breakfast.

Back on the regular schedule today, so I took Jack to school. Stacy sent me an email to ask about the drop-off, since they can sometimes be rough when I do it, too. Here is my reply:

I'll tell you how the dropoff went...

We walked in, and one of the little girls saw Jack and immediately ran to the toys and grabbed a ball, and announced she had the ball. So, Jack and I continued into the next room so I could fill out his sheet. As I begin to fill out his sheet, he decides he wants down, and furthermore, he'd like to walk back into the other room. I set him down and open the door for him, and he's off to see about that ball. I finish his form, and go back in to give him a kiss goodbye, and I don't think he even noticed.

He sure likes playing with the kids.

It won't be long before he's asking me to drop him off a block before school.