Friday, September 26, 2008

Ansel's Post

I saw you this morning, outside, taunting me. You were in the neighbor's yard slowly passing by. I saw you, and I barked at you. You can't get away from me. I'm ferocious. You stopped when you heard my bark. When I turned for a moment, you tried to get away. So, I had to bark at you again. You will not get away from me. I am Ansel, hear me roar!


--Blogger's note: What was Ansel Barking at? A plastic bag, blowing in the wind....

Thursday, September 25, 2008

30th Birthday

Today is Josh's 30th birthday. I wanted to reflect on my husband today, on his day, and make a list (I love making lists) of things I've learned from him:
  • The in's and out's of how a hockey goalie defends the goal (butterfly block, anyone?)
  • The fact that Patrick Roy (former Avalanche #33 goalie) is pronounced "waugh" instead of "roy"
  • The way to artfully frame a picture and be aware of surroundings
  • The method to make the perfect frito-pie
  • That ninjas, monkeys and zombies are awesome
  • How to cook meals that incorporate no vegetables or fish
  • That a person can change anything with time and dedication
  • Contrary to popular belief, a Bob Ross painting is not easy to paint
  • All leftover's must be heated up in the oven, not the microwave
  • You can king more than one chess piece into the queen
  • You can do a "smell" test on your Burger King order to make sure they remembered the onion rings
  • How to say "about" in Canadian, "ah-boout"
  • And finally, with enough practice, you can beat any song on Guitar Hero

Thanks, Josh, for those life lessons. And for the many, many others that I can't continue to list here. I love you and happy 30th birthday, I'm right behind you!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Choosing Words Carefully

Now that Krista talks all the time, I've noticed she has chosen key words that she likes to use. Things like, "I need mato's (tomato's)." And, "I can't pick up toys." The only thing I wonder is if I overuse these phrases, too, or if she aquired them all on her own. And she says it in such a way to make me believe she truly does NEED the item she's talking about or that she somehow physically CAN'T do what I want her to do. It's funny how kids can latch on to certain words and phrases, when learning how to communicate.

Gabriel's not quite at the verbal communication stage, but he's very adept at yelling loudly for attention. A loud, "AHhhhhh," when he wants some juice in a sippy cup. So now that I've fulfilled Krista and Gabriel's need of orange juice, I have about 5 minutes of peaceful silence - at least until the next need is realized.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Good Song

I was putting on Krista's jammies tonight and she made me laugh -

Krista began singing a jibberish song and I was just smiling and listening to her. Then she stops singing and (with a very serious look on her face) looks up at me and says, "That's a good song, Mommy." I started laughing and then she started laughing. Then she proceeded to sing again and tell me again what a good song it was that she just made up.

What a Goof.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Krista's Teeth

Krista had her very first dentist appointment yesterday. She was a star patient. She followed the dental assistant to the special room for younger patients. She brushed the stuffed monkey's teeth with a giant toothbrush. She let the dental assistant brush her teeth and then let her brush on flouride. She let the dentist look at her teeth. She picked a bouncy ball as her prize. The dentist said no plaque, it looks like we're doing everything great. They also say not to give your kids fruit snacks or gummy snacks and limit juice.... they must not have kids - those are the best snacks in Krista's mind! Oh well, don't tell the dentist, but she'll still get those as snacks!

Of course, now (after visiting the DR's office on Tues and the Dentist's office on Thurs) Krista has caught a cold... a nice runny nose and slight fever today - I never get away from those visits without a cold. In the near future I expect Gabriel to catch it from Krista and Josh and I will catch it from him.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Gabriel's 9mos Check Up

Gabriel had his 9 mos well-care child visit the other day. Here are his stats from the visit:

Weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (50-75%)
Height: 28.25" (50%)
Head: 18" (50-75%)

Overall, Gabriel is a very well-proportioned average child. His language abilities are right on track as he says, Gaga, Mama, Papa, Baba, Yaya.... the only one he says with purpose is "Mama" when he's mad and wants picked up. Sometimes he says "Papa" when he sees Josh leaving.

Nana will be glad to know that he had some meat yesterday. Some baby food ham, mixed in his other vege/cereal combo. No full body convulsions of disgust this time! Either he likes the ham better than the turkey or I mixed it well with the other food.

Today we also have a new adventure - today is Krista's first dentist appointment. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

both the kids are snoring.. at least they are sleeping in their beds, taking naps. That's good enough for me. So I'll update you on the latest and greatest happenings from our household. Gabriel is now officially crawling, everywhere. It's kind of a gimp crawl, but he goes fast! He pulls one knee up and uses his opposite foot to propel him forward. You'd swear he was crawling in a traditional manner until you look really close at him when he's going. He also pulled himself to standing today on a drawer that was pulled out on the coffee table. His top half was bend over the drawer, but his legs were completely straight. It's fun to watch him go through this growth step, since Krista was never active at his age. She was content to just sit in one place and play.

Krista continues to talk and gabber. She sings Ring Around the Rosie, while running a circle around Gabriel on the floor. She thinks it's funny and so does he - great free entertainment. And isn't that the best kind?

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Sugar & Spice

I swear that poem that relates to girls being made from sugar and spice and everything nice is true and that boys are made from snails and puppy dog tails is also true. Krista is a true sweetheart and has done some very nice things lately to be on my good list:

1. The other night after the bedroom door was closed for bedtime I heard Gabriel start to fuss and cry and then I heard Krista begin to sing, "Jingle Bells... Jingle Bells...." Instead of whining or telling him to be quiet, she was trying to sooth him with a song.

2. Anytime we are around other kids (even kids she doesn't know) she goes right up to them to be friends. She wants to give them all hugs and kisses and be sweet to them.

3. Lately, Krista has been good at sharing as well. Handing Gabriel some of her prized possession toys including her "new" magic wand, tea cup and little people toys.

Gabriel on the other hand has been crawling lately. He crawled to the dog food bowl and tipped it upside down in a matter of seconds. He likes to get close to the animals so he can grab and pull their fur. He likes paper because he likes to crumple and tear it up in a destructive manner. He definitely going to keep me on my toes - a polar opposite to his sister!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Garage Sale Adventures

This past Thursday Nana, the kids and I went on a garage sale adventure. Nana gave Krista a dollar and some change to put in her purse to buy a toy. She also brought her pocketbook to spoil the kids with some purchases. We were set to go. So across town we drove to a neighborhood sale. House one=bust. House two=bust. House three=JACKPOT. Or so we thought.

We found a toddler little tikes climber/slide, some books and a few toys that Nana bought. Now we had a dilemma - how to get a large, plastic climb on toy in my little car with 2 adults and 2 car seats? We incorrectly assumed this plastic toy would just pop apart. No, it had at least 2 phillips screws attaching the slide. A neighbor was sitting at the owner's house at this sale, so no help finding a screwdriver there.

So, round two - after going to Super Target to obtain some tools - we took the very long phillips screws out of the slide and popped it off. The owner was back at her house, a very bubbly blonde who wanted to get rid of her stuff. The two of us could not figure out how the rest of the toy came apart (she had bought it together in one piece). So we both tried several times to wedge it in my car - first in the trunk, then the passenger seat (two ways), then back to the trunk. We finally got it down in the trunk far enough to tie it down. Then we drove slowly all the way back across town where I successfully pulled the toy out of the trunk and reassembled it. Then we were off to another garage sale that happened to be down the block, where a jackpot of little people toys were found.

Friday, September 5, 2008

The Expected & Unexpected

It seems as though everything happens at once. The last few weeks have been go go go. Some things were expected such as our Nana visit, a baby shower and an upcoming friend's wedding. Some things were unexpected such as Gramp's passing, the rain delaying our landscaping goals and Josh's car dying. A whole cluster of goodies. Some good and some bad, but all making it turn into a very busy couple of weeks. Thus, my blog has suffered and has been neglected. But, I will try to update you on cute stories that happen with our life and the kids - like when Krista tried Mommy's makeup and our garage sale adventures. All stories, coming soon!