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....

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!

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.

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.

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.