The toys are among us

Christmas time.... let the plastic decor multiply! Wow! The kids made a haul this year. They are having a ball with all the new toys. We had family parties Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and are supposed to have one Saturday - mother nature may be calling that one off for us. The red suited man made an appearance here on Christmas Eve so Christmas morning was extra exciting for Vinny and Addie. Elise doesn't much know what is going on! It has been a super Christmas for all of us and has been great to make it to the family gatherings.
Vinny is excited about all his gifts and had a hard time going to bed tonight because he has not gotten to play his new Monopoly game yet! Addie is all over her new baby gear and barbies. At nearly 2 1/2 Addie already has more Barbies than I ever had! :) I wanted to take the shoes away so they don't end up in Elise's diapers, but Addie will have no part in that!
We have had several late nights in a row and not much for naps. All of us are getting tired out. We have a long recoup stretch coming up as Vinny has next week off from school and Dave heads back to work, so we will be doing some lounging and playing with the new 'stuff'. That is it from here tonight.... been some late nights for mom and dad too, time to snooze!

snow, snow, snow

Well, I do not claim to be a fan of winter or snow or any of the things that go along with it. Why I am still living in Wisconsin, I am not sure. I would say it is because it is simpler than trying to convince our entire family to move elsewhere. I am already working on my own kids suggesting that they can live someplace warm so mommy can have a way out of here:):) I guess the snow is pretty. If we could have snow and not freezing cold, I think I would be okay with it. I almost like it when it just snows and the temps are reasonable (like 20's or 30's). Dave claims to enjoy it (another big reason we are in WI!) and thinks I should just give snowmobiling another shot (I find this pastime to be cold!).
So, anyway, this rant about winter is brought on by the continual snow events taking place and the fact that we have a horrendous driveway (somewhat long -about 500 feet and VERY steep). I took Addie to the store this morning to pick up a few things and we could not get up the driveway - grrrr! At least I was able to back it into the snow halfway down so we didn't have to walk the whole thing. She was super funny when I got stuck and started sliding backwards. She started whimpering and saying 'me house, me house'. Then she thought it was pretty funny when I told her mommy got the van (which,btw, is AWD) stuck in the snow. At least the cleanup was not my deal - that is Dave's department:)
Definately looking like a white Christmas and Santa should have smooth sailing!

Time sure flies. Especially this time of year. It has been a busy month so far and will be super hectic next week for all the Christmas parties. I spent a week cut off from the cyber world! That was hard to take. Dave was out of town and had to take the laptop (currently our only computer) with him. I really seemed to accomplish a lot of things that week with no internet distractions and much less food prep - kids got easy kid food all week and I had easy stuff. I watched the nightly news since I did not have any of my news websites to periodically check up on the happenings around the world. Anyway, since then I guess I have been busy with the normal stuff and holiday things on top of them just didn't make room for my poor little blog.
I am currently trying to create a warm vacation atmosphere by loading up the woodstove and pretending it is the ocean instead of a sea of snow out my windows! Hope I didn't kill my fire with the big log I just added!
So to catch up on things...
Elise is super cute and really getting an attitude and moving around like crazy! On Sunday her first tooth finally poked through. It had been blistery for a good month. Last week she started pulling herself up to standing. Now she pulls herself and starts to scream (an earpiercing one!) because she doesn't know how to get back down. She started sleeping in her crib at night on Sunday night. She has been doing pretty well. The first night she slept all night (I hadn't gotten to sleep through the night in a couple months). Since then it hasn't been quite as long, but still an improvement over what we had before.
Adelaide has become a princess (in her mind anyway). She will grab Vinny and they dance and twirl about. This morning when I went to get her, she was twilrling her bear blankie and calling it her princess:) She still likes the pirates and dinosaur toys too, but she has been giving her babies and dollhouse a LOT of attention lately.
Vinny is so super excited about Christmas it is almost contagious! It is so fun to be 4!!! He will run around and say this is going to be the best Christmas EVER! he wants everything - yikes! He had his first school Christmas program last week. It was very cute. He was a shepherd. He was standing next to one of his buddies during the last portion of the program and the two of them had to be sushed by the older kids several times!
We have started to use our wood stove in the basement and it has proved to make a very warm cozy place to spend our days! Last weekend it was in the 80's down here! We are figuring out the best way to keep it hot overnight and working out the kinks. So, as much as I was not sure about the thing, I am starting to really like it. Now if I can just get it going today. hmmmm.

In preparation for Christmas we went to see Santa at the library a couple weeks ago and then went to get our tree. It was very very cold. I got pics of Santa, but was too frozen to take any shots of the trek to get the tree. Last weekend we got to have a lot of snowy fun. We built a snowman and a fort on Saturday (all of which melted on Sunday). We had gone sledding when we first got the snow and Vinny and I just came back in the house from going today. So, as much as I don't like snow and could really do without winter and cold, it is fun to go out and play in it now and then.

Update

Been a while since I have taken care of my blog:( Been busy around here, although some days by the end of the day I have not gotten anything done, or what I did get done has been undone already. ho hum..
so, i guess we have busy with the normal stuff around here. Elise is getting to be a very very busy girl. She has been working on a few milestones. She is getting around very well. She doesn't use her knees, but she is really gaining some upper body strength with all her creeping around. She is still working on her first tooth. It has not popped out yet, but she has a pretty good blister on her lower gum just waiting to pop. Last weekend she discovered the dog dishes for the first time, she got a little splashing in before I got her relocated. Beasley has never minded sharing with any of the kids. They don't mind sharing with her either, no wonder they get along so well.

Adelaide is developing quite the imagination and has been doing a lot of dramatic play. she will sit and play with two pieces of toast (or any other food items) for long stretches of time. One morning she had one half bit into a 'stairway' and the other half was some sort of animal or something that was going up the stairs and falling off the top. It would yell as it fell and then she would ask if it wanted to 'play again'. I try not to interrupt her little conversation because it is so fun to listen to. If I ask about it she usually stops.

Vinny is up to his usual antics. He has only taken a few days off from 'being' spiderman since October 24th. He has worn his halloween costume portions of nearly every day since then. I NEVER bring it up, but he always asks for it. We have had to take a couple days off for washings here and there (luckily it has to air dry so I can have a day of not having to see him in the same outfit). He does not wear it to school or out, but changes and leaves his clothes lieing wherever he was when he decided to transform into Spiderman. He still loves school, but every day claims he does not remember what they did! He is a boy with a ton of energy and goes non-stop from wake to bedtime. No longer even attempting a nap has made bedtime with him super easy.

Had Turkey Day at Dave's grandparents yesterday, lots of famly and yummy food. Kids had a great time and were sad to leave, but Adelaide was getting pretty sleepy.

I took part in Black Friday shopping this morning. I don't start too early, but I still got some good deals. Most of the stores were not too busy, but Toys R Us and Kohls were absolutely nuts! After a checkout line of 45 minutes at Toys R Us I saw the mile long line at Kohls and decided to move on to my next destination. I got a bunch of Christmas presents as well as some various things for us and the kids. Got outfits for the kids to do a christmas card photo. If past years is any indication of how that photo op goes they will either A. wear those outfits every day for the next 3 weeks or B. will be wearing something entirely different in the final photo! These photo shot ideas of mine Never work out!!! we are trying Take 1 tomorrow morning - keeping my fingers crossed:):)

Lights Out

So the newly environmentally conscious kid we have here (Vinny) has decided (finally) that he sleeps better with his light OFF! It has been about a year that he has been sleeping with his light on. He had two night lights and then moved to sleeping with his main room light on also. For a while I would go shut it off before we went to bed, but then we would end up with a little boy sneaking into bed with us in the middle of the night. I started just leaving it on and he got much better at staying in his room all night (at least much more often). Lately, he had been staying in his room all night no problem and this week he started wanting his light off. Monday night he got up at some point and shut it off himself and Tuesday he asked that we shut it off when we left the room. Not sure what brought it about, but he really has become very energy conscious. He shuts off the tv and lights when he leaves a room (or at least a level). We have soo many light switches in the basement that he gets frustrated when he can't find the right switch to get them all off and won't come up until we come help him (and it is hard for us to find all the right ones too).

Unfortuneately, he has a cold now and ended up in our room last night because he couldn't breathe very well. Just real stuffy and has not been able to master the art of nose blowing! Hopefully, once he gets better he will go back to sleeping all night in the dark.

Ready or not....

There was a very comical game of hide and seek going on here tonight. Vinny and Dave are playing hide and seek. Vinny wants the rooms to be dark for hiding, but he is scared of the dark, so he hides in the doorway. Gotta say it doesn't take Dave too long to find him, since he is in the door and giggles and comes running out once Dave says ready or not, here I come. He told Dave to count to one backwards before he comes to look for him.
On Vinny's turn to look for Daddy, he counts and heads out with his flashlight to look and quickly turns to me and tells me it works better if I come with him.

Adelaide is getting back to her normal self. The kids and I got flu shots last Monday. Adelaide and Vinny got the flu mist. Apparently, this wasn't the best for Addie. She got a mild case of the flu with a fever and generally lethargic and sad. :( She seems to be better now. Just a little more sleepy than normal.

Elise is all over the place. I am working to remember to keep the gates closed and the small and dirty things (like the dog bones) off the floor. She can make her way across a room pretty quick! She does not do a true crawl yet, but she pushes with her toes and can get some pretty decent speed. Vinny was trying to show her what 'real' crawling looks like today.

Good ol Dog!

Once upon a time I got a great birthday present of a super canine companion. She was cute little black 5 month old lab/hound cross that we named Beasley. Boy was she full of energy. Have to admit their were times those first few months (okay maybe first year) that we did not know if we could keep up this crazy adopted pup. We had much destruction. There was the newel posts and spindles that were chew toys, the leashes we had to buy every few weeks as she chewed through them, the unraveled berber carpet, and the power cords (luckily she did not electrocute herself or burn the house down) just to name a few. We did survive these and she is now a super family dog. She still gets into mischief, but the kids love her and she looks out for them and endures much taunting and hair pulling.
When she was a pup she got ALL the attention from us. So many walks, toys, playtime galore, puppy school, doggy daycare. Well times change! While she is still a great dog and super companion. She is my devoted running companion that dislikes my treadmill almost as much as I do since it means she does not get to go running with me. She almost always follows me into my closet to check if I am putting on my running clothes and gets super excited when the running shoes come out! She is no longer the only one looking for attention anymore.
We just realized that she turned 7 last week!!! Time flies! She is a great dog (isn't she pretty!!!) and I thought she deserved a posting - I am sure she would much rather get a treat and a good belly rub. :)

Wacky Wednesday

Vinny has been figuring out the workings of his car seat. He is still in a 5-point harness since he is so light. He started by being able to get the chest clip undone. Then he was able to get the button open himself with the help of one his toys (it has a handle just the right size to push that sticky button open). Now he is able to sometimes get out completely by himself. The button is pretty hard to do, so sometimes he can't quite get it. This morning we went to school and he was working to get himself unbuckled. He couldn't get the button pushed hard enough. He started saying 'Mommy, can you get me out!!!!' then he says 'I am so humiliated!'. I busted up laughing! I don't think he has any idea of what humiliated means and I have no clue where he heard it. So then once i was laughing he started in on his usual 'you are a monkey butt' and other references to butts to try to keep me laughing. okay, this little habit not so funny.

2056 Presidential Candidate?

What a fitting day to wear this bib!

November?!?!

Today was just a beautiful day!!! I wish we could have weather like this all year. It is November 3rd and we went to the park and no coats were needed. Adelaide had hers on of course, since for some reason she thinks a coat is needed EVERY time you go outdoors. We fought her on this ALL summer. Even when it was 90 degrees she wanted a coat on. So, she was pretty warm playing today.

This morning we had to head to the clinic for Elise's flu shot (she needed it in two doses this year) and I decided when we got there I would see if the rest of us could get them too. Vinny and Adelaide got the nasal spray up the nose. What a wonderful creation!! Vinny thought it was pretty cool, Adelaide wasn't a big fan, but I am sure she didn't understand what it was and there were no tears so I see that as success! Elise and I got the shot form, I now have a sore arm and I am sure Elise has a sore little leg. Hope it keeps us all healthy this year!!

Time, Time, Time....

I am coming to the realization that I would really like some staff here. If I am going to have enough time to blog, process photos, facebook, flickr, email, play with the kids, read - and update goodreads, read to the kids, I really am going to have to bring someone in to clean, do laundry, cook.... Guess that is why my emails are not responded to very quickly, my blog is usually behind and the laundry doesn't get folded very quickly. Oh well, at least I don't get bored! Maybe the queen sheeba on the couch, aka Beasley (the dog), could start helping out a bit more than letting me know it is time to eat again!! :)

More pics

I am pretty far behind on pics with my posts as our desktop computer moved on to the computer afterlife. Here are some pics from October.

Quest for photos...

I have been trying and trying and trying to get some good (even just one) pics of Adelaide. This may actually be part of the problem as now she is super annoyed with the camera! Her current reaction to me taking out the camera is 'ouch' and hides her face - this is not helpful in getting the perfect fall photo!!

So, this entry shows a few of the 'decent' pics I have managed of Adelaide lately.

Trick or Treat

Friday the kids finally got to wear their costumes for the real deal! We went Trick or Treating and the kids had SOO much fun. They did very well. Vinny was stellar at saying 'trick or treat', 'thank you' and 'happy halloween'. Addie did pretty well - she is only two - Trick or Treat is still a mouthful for her. Vinny was very courteous. He would just take one piece of candy, even when the people were trying to give him more. Adelaide on the other hand was grabbing handfuls! Her bucket is noticeablely more full - so mom can skim a little off the top and it won't be noticed, right?! There was no problem getting them to call it a night since they knew a treat was in store at the end.

1,2,3,4,....

Yesterday I was running some errands with the girls while Vinny was at school. We went to Target to get a few things and Addie was riding in the cart. She got to go in the basket since I didn't need too much so she was pleased! I picked up a pack of big pack of AA batteries. She was inspecting them as she does every item when she gets to sit in the basket. She started 'counting' the batteries. Up to this point it is usually one, two, ONE in a cute little screech. She has been starting to say a lot more numbers, but they are usually out of order. So anyway, she is counting her batteries and then I hear.... one, two, three, four (I am thinking wow - she is doing really well at this today) five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven (holy cow), twelve, thirteen, fourteen (huh, those counting songs and little games are paying off), fifteen, fifteen, fifteen, fourteen.... Okay, so this was her first attempt - you can't expect perfection!! She made it to fifteen! I was very impressed I must say! Daddy even got a call at work for this little occasion.

Spiderman saves the Princess

I should really be recording the dialogue around here right now. Vinny is once again in the form of Spiderman. He was able to get his tight-fittin outfit on all by himself. He then directed Addie that she needed her princess dress on.
After they were all decked out he began talking about how Princesses really like Spiderman and that Spiderman is very handsome and not 'pretty'. Vinny combed Addie's hair and told her she looked even more pretty now.
Apparently the Hulk is needed here also, Spiderman just isn't strong enough for all the things that need to be done around here.
Elise is just taking it all in.

Just Creepin Along

Elise officially started creeping on Friday! It is just too sweet. She can still be kept fairly contained and I am not trying to lure her too far, but she is definitely starting to get into more mischief. She managed to get herself over to the small toy basket in our bedroom today, tip it over and find all kinds of goodies. Trying to keep all those tiny little toys of Vinny's out of her reach is going to be tricky!

We officially have a spider man in our house! On Friday morning we had some company. Beckie stopped in with Noah and Quinn on their way to get some grocs and Dave's parents and Jesse and Bradley also stopped in and dropped off a tractor for Dave to try his hand at some tractor tune-ups and repairs. How many hobbies can one man get.... I do like just popping him a message and telling him to change my oil and check the air pressure in my tires, so I won't complain - at least not here or now since he is currently standing right next to me! So anyway, the kids were all playing and having a good time and all of a sudden Vinny comes out holding his halloween costume (I had it hidden -obviously not very well) saying 'mommy, mommy, what is this!!!!' so.... he has been wearing it ever since... all day yesterday, all this morning, I did not allow it to be worn to bed (this he found very upsetting and REALLY wants some superhero pj's since his superman pj's are for summer) or out running errands with Daddy this morning. Hopefully the costume lasts the week and can actually be used for trick-or-treating. He is just the happiest boy when he gets to dress up as a superhero. The super-man pj's were worn for several days in a row when they were new as well. Oh, to be 4 again!

Adelaide has developed a real interest in the idiot box -I mean tv. She was lounging watching one of her favorite shows yesterday and just very matter-of-factly stated in her quiet little voice 'I like TV'. That was it, no big show just laying around making a fact known to us. It really is very cute to see her get so excited when the SpongeBob theme song comes on. We shut the tv off frequently and she loves books too, but she really likes to veg a couple times a day. At this point our skinny little, often over-active kids need some down time to maybe gain an ounce or two! :) I decided today that we have lollipop children - tiny little bodies with big heads! As a side note - they love lollipops too! They all linger on the bottom or at least below half on the growth charts for weight, but they all manage to stay in the upper parts of the head chart. Makes the shirts tricky to try to get over their big melons.

Tonight we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. They had such a blast and they even ate too (always a good night when that happens). They love the games and Adelaide loves the truck rides and car races. Elise just comes along to be cute. We have only been there a couple times, but they have such a great time. They get pretty excited about the crappy prizes they get to pick out. Adelaide got a lollipop and Vinny got a taffy candy and a glider plane that appears to be broken already - imagine that!

Pucker Up

Adelaide has never given an actual kiss. Well, she is only 2, but I had been starting to notice she wasn't doing it. She loves to give hugs and she would always come and just give a little lean into you when she wanted a kiss. Tonight at bedtime she went to give Vinny a kiss and she actually made a pucker up kiss sound. It was just adorable. When I laid her down she did it again on her hand to blow me a kiss.

A note about our restructuring of bedtime. We now all head up after pj's are on and read books together in one of the kids' rooms and then go potty, brush teeth, say prayers and tuck in. It is working fabulously so far. The bedtime ritual has been cut in half I would say. whoo whoo!! Adelaide also appears to be over her crying at bedtime - was just for a few nights early last week, but all seems to be back to normal now. whew!!

Break Dancin' Inch Worm

Elise is now a break dancin inch worm! She squirms all over the floor looking a bit like a fish out of water. It is absolutely adorable. She will soon be making big brother and sister angry with stealing toys. So far they like to watch her squirm around and make it across the room in just a few kicks, rolls and flops. Better start double checking the stairway gate! :)

Bathtime....

Elise joined her brother and sister in the big bathtub for the first time last Tuesday. She really likes it. She loves to splash and has a smile the whole time! Vinny and Addie think it is pretty cool when she is in with them also. She doesn't stay in very long, but I am sure it won't be long and she will want to stay in for the whirlpool bubbles too.

Weekend....

Falling a bit behind on some blogs...
So, the weekend. Friday the kids and I were home all day and I cleaned the house - yipee! :( I got the house cleaned top to bottom though, which was nice till an hour later the toys were scattered about and more bugs had made their way in. The boxelder bugs and asian beetles are out of control right now. UGH!!!! Friday evening we went to visit gma and gpa Schwarz (always a good incentive for getting the kids to cooperate - they love the visits to see grandparents!). We took our hard drive out there from our now dead old computer. Luckily, we were able to retrive the items we needed off the old drive. RIP old computer - you served us well for 8 years!! :-) So, now we have to find ourselves a new computer...

Saturday was gorgeous and we got to enjoy some unusally warm weather. Dave got a lot of trees cut up. I took Beasley running - she found it way TOO warm - what a treat in October!

Sunday we went up to Isaac's birthday party - 5 already!!! Great party. Kids had a great time and we had some great food (we as in Dave and I- the kids had pretzels and cake, I think!). We were all pretty wore out when we got home last night, but sleeping was an issue. Vinny and Addie watched a little too much of a show that had them scared. Elise was overtired and I had bad timing with an caffinated soda. After a rough time getting all parties to sleep - they all slept in a bit this morning, so that was a welcomed treat!

Vinny picked up some sniffles somewhere along the way and has had a headache (or he discovered that a headache scores him some children's tylenol!) Hope he is better for school tomorrow - picture day.

Paper Batman

Vinny has become very creative with tape and paper lately!! Yesterday he made himself a batman costume. He made horns, cape and belt. He taped the horns to his head and got the belt taped on all by himself. He needed a little assistance with the cape, but it is pretty impressive work for a 4 year old. He wore his new 'costume' last night (slept in all but the cape), this morning to the ear doctor and is still wearing it. He made some revisions and made a new cape after lunch, but the horns and belt are holding up well. I am going to need to switch to generic tape and buy in bulk!

I Like Move It

One day last week we were driving somewhere and Adelaide started singing to the Rihanna song 'Disturbia'. Came out something like 'Serbia', but cute! So today she starts singing 'I Like to Move It Move It.' (Comes out 'I like move it'). Very amusing!! Now to get those ABC's down. :)

Lullaby....

Last night I was getting ready to feed Elise before she went to sleep and Vinny had just gone upstairs to read books with Daddy. Elise was pretty sad so Vinny came down and wanted to sing her a lullaby. awwww, so sweet. He sang her twinkle twinkle and itsy bitsy spider. She loved it as she does whenever big brother or sister talks to her. Somehow I am guessing they won't always be so sweet to one another. I will enjoy it while it lasts.

Rollin'

Elise is officially a roller now! She is moving all over the place (getting her head stuck under various things) and will soon be getting her little paws on things a 6 month old should probably not have. Oh, and her half birthday was yesterday!! She celebrated with squash! She started her veggies on Sunday. She LOVES her squash, I think we will try carrots next:)

Pics from September

I notice that I am WAY behind at putting any photos up. So, here are some from the month - can't believe it is almost October!!!

Rainy days

It is a rainy day here. We are busy doing some crafts aka making a huge mess! ARGH!

We had a pretty good weekend. Friday we were home and just hung out. Saturday I ran a 5 mile run in the morning and we went to help Ron move on Saturday. There was not too much to move so we all went down and got to see his new place and the farm.
Saturday evening we went to celebrate Isaac's 7th birthday. Kids had a good time. We were all pretty tired out after a long day and not much for naps.
Sunday was pretty low-key. Got the kids new shoes - they were SUPER excited about them! We had to put on the new shoes as soon as we got back to the van:)

Puter is sad:(

Well, I think we may have to think about updating our desktop sometime soon. It is feeling very sad these days and is begging for retirement. We have had the same desktop since 2000. In computer years that must be like 120 years old or so.... :) So, that is my excuse right now for lack of photos on here lately. We are working to get all the important info (including photos) off the old machine, so hopefully it lasts through that process!

Weekend with Daddy!

I got to spend this past weekend on my annual girls weekend getaway. I went to the Dells to meet up with some friends. I had a great time and the kids spent the weekend with Dave. They apparently did not miss me too much. I called home Saturday evening since I had not heard from them yet! They got to visit Grandma Schwarz while Dave helped his brother and dad take care of some corn chopping on Saturday.
I am recovering from a lack of sleep. It is way more tiring hanging out and having fun with old friends than chasing three little kids (or it could be that we went to bed obscenely late both nights - ugh!). We had some great times laughing and playing games and cards - what a fun little trip.

Where did my baby go

Seems the big kids get more blog entries. Elise is getting so big. She is such an easy baby these days. She will hang out on the floor for literally an hour and play with a rattle or some other toy. She loves to play on her belly - she looks like she is practicing for a swim team:) She is almost 6 months old already. She is liking her rice cereal. I have to hold her hand out of her mouth to get her to eat though - she LOVES her right hand middle and ring finger!! Sucks them a lot! She has a pretty crazy hair style these days. I will get some new photos up soon.

Shoe crisis!!

With the changing seasons we are having quite the dilemma with the 2 year old! Adelaide can be impossible these days to try to get out of the house. She will not put shoes on. I don't care what shoes she wants to wear, just put SOMETHING on that will at least sort of stay on!! She will rip them off and throw them (at me) and scream. Today I just dragged her out with no shoes on (I had them with). This did not make her happy, but school pick up time is fairly important. I think she is having some major power struggles and is also having a rough time with 2 year molars. Sure hope those come in sooner rather than later - she has her hands in her mouth constantly - yuck!!!
So, her shoes today consisted of 2 pairs of Vinny's old sandals and one of hers - different shoe each time we were outside. Not looking forward to winter!!!!

A is for Adelaide

This post is more of a note so I can remember. Addie turned 2 in July and she knows her letters. She does not seem to know the ABC's, but she can identify pretty much every letter of the alphabet and most numbers. She has been doing this since well before her birthday, but has really perfected this skill. She knew some letters before she knew hardly any words. I think because Vinny was learning his letters - she picked up on them real fast at the same time.
This will hopefully make it into a scrapbook someday - those darn scrapbooks don't do themselves though!!

New Friends

So, Vinny is in his third week of school. He is really enjoying it now and I don't think he misses us anymore:) He used to say it was fun, but he really missed me while he was there. Not anymore I guess. This morning I dropped him off and and Connel came up to give him a hug -awwww!! This is the medium sized boy that he must play with a lot - he even calls him and Ryan by name now.
Addie is seeming to enjoy Vinny being gone less! At first I think she liked it and now she really seems to miss him. She tries to give him big hugs when we pick him up - he is not really a hugger unless he initiates it.

What a differnce.....

two weeks of school makes! Vinny seems to really enjoy school now! He is actually excited to go. Took a couple weeks, but he has adjusted well.
He has changed so much in what he likes to do. He now loves to just sit and draw - he used to like this on occasion, but got so frustrated at not being able to do things 'perfectly' that it was usually pretty short sessions. Now, he sits and practices without even a request to make the eyes look the same:) He has a unique little style the past few days that is very interesting. He will sit with a crayon in each hand and make a symmetrical drawing (head, body, legs). I am pretty sure I can not do that!!

Potty!

Adelaide had a little milestone yesterday. She went pee on the potty!! Vinny and Adelaide were playing outside when we got home from preschool. Vinny proceeded to dump sand down Addie's back and down her diaper, so Addie had to get brought in the house bare bottom:) She wanted to sit on the potty - she often sits on it, but never does anything there. I told her she was done (or she would sit there all day) and I looked and she had gone!! She went again a while later, but has had little interest today. It is a start!! One kid in diapers??? maybe soon?!?!?!

Go Big RED!!

So, last weekend we went to the Badger game! We went with Dave and Sarah - thanks for asking us. It was a great time!! It had been way too long since we had been to a game. The Badgers won big, but they did have a rough start. It was also the first time we left all three kids for a whole day. Gma Schwarz watched them - they had a great time. What a great day!

Sunday we decided to head up and visit my family. It is harder to get away during the week now that Vinny has preschool. Ron also decided that day to make a visit up there too, so we ended up seeing my whole fam this weekend. It was a nice visit and the kids were all tired out after the weekend out and about.

First Day of School

Yesterday was Vinny's first day of preschool. He goes three mornings a week- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Dave took him yesterday for the first day. It all went well and he was pretty happy, but very tired, when I picked him up. Today, I took him to school and he was not thrilled about it one bit. He was pretty sad and there were a few tears. When I picked him up he was a changed little man. He started pointing out his new friends. There is the big boy and the medium sized boy (I am assuming then that he is the small boy). I believe their names are Connal and Ryan. They played a spiderman game and they like superheros too! He says he is excited to go back tomorrow, but then he gets to stay home the next day.

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great Labor Day weekend. We had fun with family and friends and kept busy, but not too busy. Friday night we went to Ethan's birthday party. The kids had a really good time. They always love getting to play with cousin's toys. Saturday we had a brunch with friends. We had such a good time. Our kids are roughly same ages and do really well together. Was great food and great friends! Sunday we went to the Dells and went to the Wilderness waterpark with some friends - what a great time!! The kids got to play with Olivia - Vinny and Olivia do so well together (after a little warm up time). Another great time with friends. Monday we went to Gma and Gpa Schwarz's for a Labor day lunch. Kids got to play with cousins again. They had a sprinkler set up and they all had a good time. After days of fun times, we had to cut it a little short so Addie could get a nap.

Many Thanks

Last night Dave took Vinny up to bed for the normal nighttime ritual of reading books. After the book reading they come down and Vinny goes to the bathroom and brushes his teeth. Then I go up to tuck him in. He told me that Daddy said a prayer for him and wondered if I wanted to hear it. I said sure - thinking it would be regarding his first day of school coming up. So, this is how it went:
Dear God - Thank you for giving Vinny Black-suited Spider Man. Amen.
:)
I asked Dave about it and he claims he had some thanks for family in there too! :)

Balloon, outside!! (in Addie speak)

We had a little more traffic on Sunday morning around here than normal (which is NONE!). A hot air balloon flew up our road and landed right on the other side of the valley from our house.
We woke Adelaide up to see it. Now she thinks she can go outside to see a balloon at any time.

Critters!

Today we had our last summer playgroup. The kids had such a blast. We went to the home of a family that has a mini farm. They had SO many critters!! Bunnies galore, goats, potbellied pigs, horses, llamas, sheep, kittens, dogs.... Of course the fav was the kittens! Vinny often tells me we need one. I don't think so!!

School days!

Last night Vinny had his school picnic. He will be starting preschool next week. He did pretty well last night. He and Addie both seemed to really like his classroom - they played so well while we checked things out. He was super excited about his little prize he got - it was a spider ring! This kid loves all things spider!!

Something went Bump!!

So, on Sunday, Adelaide went up for her nap (we have been missing way too many of them lately!). It was business as usual, I thought. She goes up in the afternoon and is usually good up there for about 3 hours. So, late Sunday afternoon I went to get her and she was laying in the middle of her floor curled up on top of her blankies. :(:( Apparently, she decided to jump out today. She is not able to open her door yet, so she couldn't get out. We don't know if she ever slept that afternoon. Hopefully, she stays put inside her crib for a while longer!! Not ready to give that up yet.

Green Thumb

So, after a day home to recover a bit we had ticket to Elmo's Green Thumb last Saturday. We had gotten the tickets a long time ago before we knew we would be out of town most of the week. The kids had a good time though. Vinny thought Abby (Elmo's friend) was a little too loud. Other than that they seemed to really enjoy the show. Adelaide really seems to get into performances, movies, etc... more than other kids her age it seems. Elise went to spend the morning with Grandma Diane, so it was just the four of us -seemed so weird to have just two kids!!

Trip Photos...

Photos from our trip to the Twin Cities




Above: our picnic at Como Park
Below: pics in the park









Elise Checking out here new bed





Food and Friends at Leah's house







Go Twins!

Three Day Tour

So, we had a busy week this past week. We went on a little family trip - nothing big, but with the ages of the kids right now there was a lot of planning involved. It went GREAT!! We went up to the Twin Cities for a few days. We left on Tuesday and made our way up to our Minneapolis destination. We chose the scenic water route for the drive up and heard a lot of "waller, waller" "lo look, WALLER" which is Adelaide being very excited about seeing water! She never tires at pointing out every body of water, boat or airplane she sees.
We made it up to the Como zoo for our picnic lunch (just about an hour later than planned, so pretty good!). We then took in the zoo. We got there just in time to see the Sparky Show. Well, Dave and the big kids saw Sparky, I had to feed Elise who was oh so patient with us all week. After the zoo we checked into our hotel and had a little down-time. The room worked out just fine, but it was not what we thought we were getting (downfall of on-line booking I guess!). Tuesday evening we went over to Leah's house -super cool pad Leah! Stephanie and Matthew came over and we had a great little grill-out. Matthew did a superb job with the grilled fare! it was a great time with old friends and we got to meet Leah's new puppy!! Kids loved the puppy
even though he is still a little nippy - they kept going back for more!

Wednesday we had tickets to a Twins Game. The morning was taken up with some walking around and heading over to the stadium. It was a 12:05 game and we arrived a little early so we could settle in our seats and get some ballpark food. Bonus that it was dollar dog day! Vinny found his fave to be the soft pretzel and Addie is all about the popcorn. I spent a good deal of time checking out the facilities. Elise had two diaper changes, Addie had one, and Vinny had to go potty once as well. Needless to say I had a pretty good path worn between our seats and the restroom! We made it through the 4th inning (that was considered a successful game for us). We all had a good time at the old Metrodome.
Wednesday afternoon we took the kids to the pool in the hotel. They had a blast. Even Elise seemed to like the water. She was in for just a bit and then we laid her down and she went to sleep by the deck tables (we were the only ones in the pool room). Wednesday evening we went out to IKEA to run an errand and had some pizza before getting ready for another night of sleep in the hotel.
The kids did SO SO well at night. We had not had a 'regular' hotel room in years. We have always gotten a suite so that we could put at least one kid in the other room. We decided to try a regular room and it went better than we could have ever thought. Vinny slept with Daddy in one bed and Elise and I had the other and Addie had her own pack and play next to Elise and I. We turned out the lights and really never heard anything from anyone. Not counting the neighbors who must have had a very wild night out and were having some after bar celebrations for at least an hour from 3- 4am! Luckily, they did not wake the kids, they just woke Dave and I.

Thursday was our last day on our little 3 day tour and we were off to the fair. We packed up in late morning after a little swim time in the pool. We headed out to the Minnesota State Fair. It just happened to be the first day of the fair so we decided to fit it in to our adventure.
We had a good time. We parked in a park and ride so the kids got to ride the bus. They always like when we get to take some sort of public transit. We had hoped to take advantage of the light-rail line, but we ran out of time. Maybe next time! At the fair, we saw the animals, took in the people watching, had a little fair food and the kids got to check out the kidway. Vinny got a bit traumatized by the ride he picked out. It had a big pirate on the front, but was just a spooky ride with a lot of dark and loud noises - both of which he wants nothing to do with!!!!! We let him do another mild ride after that to try to get his mind off the scary one! He spent much time that day and Friday planning out how a really good ride should be and of course it involves Spiderman!

We hit the road for our drive home after the fair. It was a good trip. Great weather, kids did wonderfully! We could not have asked for more.

Splish Splash

Yesterday we went bumming around and grabbed some lunch and went to the splash park. We had never been there before and we all had a blast. Adelaide even went in the sprinkler. She has been a little scared by them recently. The first thing she said when she got up from her nap yesterday afternoon was "Adelaide play in water". What a fun time and free too!! Too bad I forgot the camera.

The name game...

What to call your kids. Do you call them the 'official' given name or the nicknames that develop? Adelaide 'Addie' now calls herself Adelaide. So, does she prefer it or is it easier for her to say? Does a 2 year old really care what you call them as long as they get some attention? I try to call her Adelaide (at least some times) so she can choose that if she likes, but I have called her Addie for so long.... hmmm, I don't think a harmless nickname will scar a kid too much!

FIRE!!

Saturday night we had a sunset bonfire up on the hill for the kids. It was our first attempt to get a little fire pit established up there. The kids had a blast. Elise even seemed to really like it up there. The kids roasted marshmallows for the first time. Adelaide liked the warm gooey mallows, but Vinny preferred the fresh out of the bag type. In lieu of actual smores we had the marshmallows and chocolate separately - the kids are not fans of messy foods. The crackers got turned down all around. We tried to sing a few songs, but Vinny had to change all the well known tunes to his own creations that included some very unique dance moves and catchy little phrases that almost always had something to do with spiderman!

Week at a Glance...

So, another summer week has slipped by. I have decided already that I will probably not get a post in every day (or even close to it). Some days are just not that memorable and some are too chaotic.
Today we have going to the library on the agenda. The kids love to pick out new books to read. This particular trip is one I am not looking forward to as we have to return some books that got vandalized. I wish I could say someone broke in our house and all they did was draw some pictures in our library books, but I cannot say that. Instead, we have a little graffiti artist that had a pen in his room and one day when he was supposed to be napping he decided to make the books 'pretty'. He only drew on the blank pages before and after the stories. I have now scoured his room and confiscated all writing mechanisms! Also, no library books are left in the little vandals room.

Yesterday, we had a pretty fun day. Our friends, Chris and Olivia, made a visit up to see us. It was sooo good to see them! The kids loved having Olivia to play with and I loved having Chris to catch up with:):) Last night we had some visitors too. Grandma and Grandpa Schwarz, Great Grandma, little Ernie and Aunt Diane stopped in after they had been out to eat at a local eatery. It is always nice to have visitors:) :)

Tuesday and Wednesday we had playgroups with some friends. Tuesday we had one at our house and Wednesday we went to a local playgroup that is held at a school. My little independent kids kept getting away from me on Wednesday. We were busy on the playground and I started looking around and Vinny was gone. I went inside after searching the playground. He had headed in and had taken his spot in the circle time music circle! He looked at me and said "what took you so long". After songs and story time we went outside for snacks. This time both Vinny and Addie got away from me by the time I got Elise packed up to head outside. I found them sitting at the snack table waiting for animal crackers and juice. Addie had taken up the spot next to the giant tub of crackers and I think I saw her swipe a couple:) This was the first time they both were being such 'big kids'. Seems normally at least one of them is hanging on my leg being shy or pouting about a toy they just HAD to have that someone else got to first.

Being as this is Friday already, I don't remember what we did on Monday. I don't think we accomplished too much. I think it was a cleaning/laundry day. I am pretty sure we laid low after our busy Sunday in Madison.

My Three Monkeys

We made a trip back to our old stompin' grounds on Sunday. We went to visit my brother in the hospital (who is doing very well). The hospital happens to be right near the zoo, so it seemed logical that we would make a visit to see our old animal friends! I used to take the kids there often before we moved.
We had a great trip. We checked out the critters and met up with Nate, Elizabeth and Lucas and got to have a good visit with them. They graciously opened their house up so we could have some grub before we hit the road again to head home. The kids (and mom and dad) had a long day, but they did great. Little Elise was a stellar traveler! I don't think she cried once - who could ask for more from a 4 month old!! We will be traveling again soon after that experience.

In Full Bloom

I am very excited that the sunflowers (and black eyed susans) are blooming! They look so pretty. Now I just need to learn how to roast the seeds.... maybe.