Ballet Buddies and Big Boy Bed

Anne's friend Elsa and her brother Brahm came over to play one morning.  The girls found the dress-up clothes and decided to be ballerinas!

"Elsa, put your arms up like this!"

Operation Baby-No-More completed phase one when Sammy got a new bed!  We took the crib down and brought in a twin bed for him.  He LOVES it!  He lays in there, stroking his blankets, saying, "It's so nice!"

He looks a little smaller in there now...

Hockey Genius

Here is our boy, showing off his knowledge of the Minnesota Wild roster.  Opa has been training him since the season began in October.  Read the list before watching so you have a clue what he's saying!  Maybe soon we can show him naming all the NHL logos--his toddler speech makes for some funny pronunciations.

#7--Matt Cullen
#9--Mikko Koivu
#10--Devin Setoguchi
#15--Dany Heatley
#21--Kyle Brodziak
#22--Cal Clutterbuck
#32--Niklas Backstrom (the goalie)
#55--Nick Schultz (aka Schultzie)
#96--Pierre-Marc Bouchard (known to all as "P-Marc")

Old Stuff: Pumpkin Patch

 We made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch WAY back at the end of September.  We very hastily went because Sam was potentially leaving to work out of state for most of October.  That ended up not happening, so we just had our fall fun early!  At least we had nice weather for once--we're always the dunce family who comes on the coldest weekend of the year.  The farm is conveniently located between our house and Will and Adrienne's house, so they met us there and helped us wrangle the kids.

Anne and Sammy enjoyed the petting zoo, train ride, hay maze, corn box, and "big bales" for climbing.  It was nice this year that they were both old enough to do everything and not get scared or cry at any point.

Riding the train--the only 2 kids there!

Playing with antiquated farm equipment--don't lose a hand!  You put the corn in the top, turn the crank, and the corn kernels are stripped off and the cob shoots out the bottom.  She thought this was hilarious.

How old does this boy look?!?!  Where is my baby?!?!

Sam loves to hide in the hay maze and make the kids find him.  Cheap thrills.  Adrienne had to help them a bit this year.

Plenty of spotters on hand for the climbing.

Riding the stick ponies through the grass.

Can you see their blonde heads in the grass?  They're in there!

He just adores his big sister...

Thank you, helpful aunt and uncle!

Christmas Lamb

I have pictures from Anne's first Christmas program (and many other things we've been doing), but here's a teaser from Opa's fancy new phone!  Anne was a lovely lamb in our church's production of "Follow That Star" on Sunday.  She and her preschool buddies made an adorable menagerie of lambs and cows.  They were so cute singing--they even learned some Latin!  Anne was quite proud of herself and did a good job as a "performer" for one morning.

I'm in so deep, I'm practically drowning

So, you know our family loves us some hockey.  High school, college, NHL; it's all good.  The kids have hockey books and hockey shirts and 4 (four!) little hockey sticks of their own to play with.

Part of loving hockey is finding others who share your enthusiasm.  Our goal today is to convert some of you into lovers of this great game.  The Minnesota Wild are red-hot this year and we have many ways for you to enhance your hockey experience.  Follow these steps and you will be just as smart (smarter, really) than any analyst on FSN.

Tonight the Wild play the Chicago Blackhawks at home.  This afternoon you can get your pre-game notes at Opa's hockey blog: WildGameNotes.com  Next, hop over to Uncle Travis' Wild blog: WildlyBiasedObservations.tumblr.com for a sassier take on the game (and many pop culture references). 

At 6:30 tonight, plop down on the couch and turn on the game.  Tonight's broadcast can be seen on Versus, a channel that shows 100 different fishing and hunting shows and an occasional hockey game.  While enjoying the game, log-in to your Twitter account and follow Uncle Trav as he offers live commentary.  He tweets @WildlyBiased

This multimedia blitz is sure to turn any lukewarm fan into a diehard citizen of the State of Hockey.  Now get reading.

Family Nap Time

This is what you will most likely find if we are all home at 5:30 p.m.  Dad sleeps, Anne sleeps, Sambo enjoys the snuggles while I make dinner in relative peace.  Most days, though, Dad is not home that early and the kids are grumpy!

More blogging to come soon--the Christmas season is upon us and we are quite busy.  Too busy for uploading photos, at least :)

Edited and Updated: Too many quotes for a status update

An argument that could only happen at our house:
Anne: Ooh, let's watch Giada!
Sammy: No!  Paula Dean!

Removing the tongs from the dishwasher...Sammy says, "Giada has that!"

Anne walked into the kitchen with a baby doll.  She said, "I'm an Indian!"  I said, "What do you mean?"  She said, "I'm an Indian.  I am stealing this baby."  I replied, "Huh?  Where did you learn that?"  She said, "From 'Peter Pan'!"

Here's the quote that made me think, "I gotta blog these": Anne asked me to come to the bathroom with her.  I lingered in the doorway for a moment while she got settled, then went to toss some socks into her laundry basket.  She shouted from the bathroom, "Mom?  Where did you go?  You said you would always be there for me!"  I thought to myself, "What the what?  Who says that?" Anne quickly recovered by laughing and saying, "That's like 'The Lion King'"  She had me reeling in the mom-guilt for a second!

Preschool Update

We had Anne's first parent-teacher conference last night.  As a teacher, I was pretty sure of what to expect, and it is exactly what we got: She's great, no concerns, thanks for coming.

Anne's class has two teachers, and we met with just one last night.  Mrs. B. told us that Anne is doing well in all areas.  She is an especially good helper to her classmates, she listens well and follows directions, and enjoys all activities in the classroom.  Her coloring and cutting are very good, she can write her first name (so cute, by the way!), and she does a good job of taking care of her coat and backpack (a big skill in the 3-year-old class).

As I've said before, I don't always get a lot of info from Anne about school.  When I asked her what she liked about school she said, "Playing kitchen and singing on the purple carpet."  She has 17 classmates, and a few names that get tossed around are Nora, Mac, Landon, and Willow.  I know that Nora is her good buddy, and Mrs. B. said that they play together a lot.

Sidenote: I felt bad for the teachers last night when I learned this class has girls named Annie, Evie, Avi, and Ari.  I'm betting they get mixed up once in a while!

All in all, Anne is doing just fine and enjoying school.  She is always excited to go and always excited to show us her projects and tell us what she's learned (with a little gentle prompting).  I'm a little excited because next Wednesday I get to take her and drop her off--something I've never done!  Maybe I can get another little peek into her world.

Halloween 2011

 Here they are, folks!  In case you do not have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old of your own, let me tell you that it is nearly impossible to take a nice picture of them.  They smile too big, they blink at the flash, and they can't hold still for more than .63 seconds.  What you see are the 3 best photos of about 30...

Sidenote: How hard is it to schedule Halloween?  Between picking up kids, trying to make dinner, and getting everyone dressed and out the door I about lost my mind!  We did not manage to get out the door before the sun went down...maybe next year (oh, and speaking of next year, I am totally letting Sam take the kids out by himself.  I will stay home and answer the door.)

Without further ado, here are my kiddos!  I made Anne's costume--she is "Jessie the Cowgirl" from Toy Story.  You can see more photos of the real Jessie here.  Sammy is just a generic cowboy--his bandana got left behind in the rush and his jacket is buttoned up so far you can't see his plaid shirt!  He made up for it with his adorable, "Tay koo" after getting his candy.

 All in all I was able to costume the children for less than $10.  Thrift finds and stuff we had around the house worked just fine for us!

Halloweens Past

While you wait for this year's Halloween pictures, here are a few old ones to keep you occupied:

Anne's first Halloween in her penguin suit.  If memory serves she was a happy girl that night as we toted her around town.

 The following year, newly 1-year-old Anne as a dalmatian puppy.

 Halloween 2009--kind of a nightmare.  Anne didn't really like that costume and didn't really "get" the whole concept of trick-or-treat.  Sammy just cried in that same penguin suit.

2010: Now we are making progress!  This was a good year as Anne ran from house to house for more candy.  Sammy tagged along in the stroller.

And 2011?  Sammy at least got his own original costume--no, he did not wear the candy corn.  More to come. (Soon?  No promises.)

Grown-Up Television

As I've said before, my kids love to watch Food Network and Cooking Channel.  I love that they love it because it means we don't have to watch Nick Jr. all the time.  Less "Wonder Pets", more "Barefoot Contessa"

However, Nick Jr.'s perk is its lack of commercials.  Grown-up channels have commercials...for grown-up things.  While we are still avoiding annoying commercials for junky toys and crap, my kids have established an interesting vocabulary.  Some examples:

Anne: Mom, this is green and starts with "B".  I think it is Benefiber.

Anne: We are CenturyLink.

Anne: .....cash rewards card.....

Anne: Mom, do you know what is an easy dinner?  You take the meat and wrap it in the dough!  (This is a commercial from Pillsbury--an "easy dinner idea" of wrapping hot dogs in Crescent roll dough)

Strange?  Yes.  But hey, no one is asking me for a Leapster or "Little Miss Muffin" for Christmas!

The Vomit Saga

We took a family drive to Chippewa Falls, WI today.  We have been in the market for a new car for Sam and found one that we liked and wanted to see.  It was a long drive, but worth it in the end, since we came home with a truck!

But the real fun happened while Sam was on his test drive.  The kids and I were chilling in our car.  I had been finishing up Anne's Halloween costume and talking to the kids when a salesman said, "We have a nice waiting area inside.  You can come in and watch TV."  I thought, "Well, the kids can stretch their legs and go to the bathroom."  So we unloaded and headed inside.  As I unbuckled Anne she said, "My tummy hurts."  I replied, "I bet you are hungry." (It was 1:30 and we had not yet had lunch).  We went inside and headed for the waiting area.  As we passed the bathroom Anne said, "Mom, I need to go potty."  So in we went.

If you have ever taken small children into a public bathroom, you know that it requires a bit of skill.  Find a place for the purse, establish non-peeing child in a clean area, help other child use the toilet.  I got Anne up on the seat and she started to whimper.  She went through her usual "sad comments" of "I miss Oma" and "I miss Daddy"  In my mind I was thinking, "Gah, just go to the bathroom!  I'm crouching on the floor and it is gross!"

In the next few seconds she started making this bizarre noise.  It was not gagging so much as a soft grunting sound.  I looked at her funny just in time to watch the vomit come pouring out of her mouth AND nose.  Most of it landed on the floor in front of her, but plenty was down the front of her coat and in her lap.  Anne, to her credit, was completely calm.  She did not ever cry or panic.  I was just kind of frozen, not sure if I should move her or not.  Sammy, on the other hand, COMPLETELY wigged out.  The minute he saw the barf he started screaming and crying, "Annie!  Annie!  I scared!  I scared!" 

Thus began the dance of Calm-The-Baby, Clean-The-Puke.  My text message to Sam was, "CRISIS!  WE ARE IN THE LADIES ROOM"  It only took him a minute to arrive and remove Sammy from the situation (he apparently continued to freak out outside the bathroom until a kind salesperson gave him some candy).

Back in the bathroom, I took stock of the situation.  I had extra pants and underwear for Anne, but no burp rag or extra towel.  The bathroom was completely out of paper towels, so we attacked the mess with toilet paper.  Anne was a trooper as I cleaned her up, changed her clothes, and then she sat patiently on the floor while I assessed the damage.

I was attempting to wipe/scoop the puke with wads of toilet paper.  I did a few swipes, then flushed them away.  A few more swipes, flush....toilet is clogged.  You have got to be kidding me!  I let the tank fill, then tried to flush again...the water began its telltale creep upward instead of down.  Thank goodness my mom taught me where the water shutoff is on a toilet!  We turned the water off and continued the wipe-and-scoop and threw the mess in the trash.  I managed to remove all traces of vomit from the bathroom, but someone probably had to plunge the toilet after we left!

So, that was our first real experience with a puking child.  I'm not anxious to revisit it anytime soon.

(Anne was totally fine, by the way.  Too much breakfast + hot car ride = puke)

Funny Stuff

I'm home with the kids for a few days while school is out, and they are chatting my ear off.  Here are a few samplings of their cutenss:

Sambo (having a monologue while looking at a cookbook): Would you like hamburger or French toast?  French toast?  Okay, here you go, sir.

Anne asked me to make her a list of "directions" for Halloween.  She wanted me to write out numbered steps about how I was going to make her costume and how she needed to get dressed for trick-or-treating.  I wonder where she gets this trait?

(Sidenote: The other day I decided if I ever wrote an autobiography it would be titled, "Even My Blood is Type A".  Seems appropriate.)

We have been putting baby powder on Sammy lately when we change his diaper, and he calls it "sprinkles."  He'll be laying there half-naked and say, "Mama, have sprinkles?" and make this little pinching motion with his fingers, like he is sprinkling salt on his food.

So Smart

I worked late last night for parent-teacher conferences.  When I got home around 9:00 Sammy was still awake and eager to greet me.  Here is our exchange:

Sammy: Mama!  You're back!
Me: Hi, baby.  Yes, I'm home now.
S: You church?
M: No, I wasn't at church.  I was at work at my school, in the library.
S: Oh, ah-work.
M: Yep, in the library
S: Library?  Lots of books.  Be quiet.

That boy.  He gets me.

Dying from the cuteness

Sambo: Mama, let's pray
Me: Okay.  Dear Jesus, thank you for our...
Sambo: Food
Me: And thank you for our...
Sambo: Friends.  And Dad, and Mom, and Annie, and Bobo!  And Mom.  Amen.

So handsome!

I have no picture of how handsome my son is, but I do not want to forget this.  Sam gets him dressed each morning and then he toddles to me in the bathroom and says, "Mama!  I so han-some!" and smooths down his shirt and wiggles his little bumper.  It is SO cute (and so very true.)

Can't Forget the Unicorn

We also bought Anne a "Blanket Buddy".  It is a stuffed animal that came with a fleece blanket attached.  Her animal of choice was a unicorn.  Anne had been eyeing it all summer at Menards, and when I saw they were on clearance for $4, I relented.  She was thrilled to see it and shouted, "My unicorn!"  On Thursday she told me, "Mom, my unicorn's name is 'Giada'" and I about died laughing inside.  She is a one-of-a-kind kid, for sure.

Birthday Fun

Anne celebrated turning 4 on Tuesday night with Oma, Opa, Will, Adrienne, and the rest of the Westphalls.  We had pizza and cake and ice cream and Anne was thrilled.  She had been asking for weeks about her "birthday dinner"

 Anne received clothes from Mom and Dad and from Will and Adrienne.  Gotta make sure she looks spiffy for school, you know!

 Daddy also remembered how much Anne had admired the piggy banks at Target.  She asked for one all summer.  I had forgotten, but Dad didn't, so we picked one up.  It is hard to tell in the photo (click it to enlarge) but she was ecstatic!  She spent the rest of the night asking people for money.

 Our big girl

 We sang the song and she methodically blew out the candles one by one.  Uncle Will joked that she was wishing for fewer candles.

 And in general adorable-ness, here is Uncle Will playing piano with Sambo.

You are 4 today!

Anne, you are 4 years old today!  

Here's what you looked like when you turned 1...

 And 2...

 And 3.

 Here you are as a tiny baby!

Your dad and I cannot believe how fast you have grown.  These four years have passed so quickly.  It is exciting to see you grow and change and learn new things, but it is sad to think that the next 4 years will go just as quickly.  Soon you will be 8, then 12, then 16!  Happy birthday, Anne Meredith.  We love you so much!

Matching Jammies

The kids have matching "woodland animal" pajamas.  This is the best of about 20 pictures I took.  Sambo is a little blurry...

Cute pajama-related stories:
Sammy calls them "jamas"
Anne has a movie with a deer character named Giselle, which she pronounces "Duhzelle"  Since there are deer on her jammies, she said, "There are about a hundred Duhzelles on here!"
Anne doesn't really like pajamas; every night she asks if she can sleep in her clothes.

Easy Potato Soup

This comes from an awesome cookbook, Betty Crocker's "4 Ingredient-Dinners" which my sister purchased for me one Christmas (I think I asked for "some kind of 'cooking for dummies' or 'super-easy cooking' book")  I have altered it slightly, but it is basically the same recipe.

It goes like this:

1 32-oz carton of chicken broth (Anne calls it 'chicken brock')
3 medium potatoes, washed and diced (no need to peel)
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Put chicken broth and potatoes in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  (You can boil potatoes, right?  Not hard.) (As Rachael Ray says--the smaller you dice, the faster it cooks).

Over low heat, mash the potatoes slightly to create a rough texture.  Stir in the milk, then slowly add the cheese, stirring until it is all melted.  Add salt and pepper to taste; garnish with green onions if you are fancy.

Sam and I both thought this was very good and very easy to prepare.  The kids had more fun crushing saltines into their bowl than actually eating, but Sambo did get a few good bites in.  Anne, as always, had to be coerced into taking the mandatory 3 bites.  Girl loves to cook, hates to eat.  Go figure.

Forgotten Summer

Here are a couple shots from the summer. As I sit here writing this I'm thinking, "Did I post this already?" I am clearly losing my mind. In any case, enjoy my adorable children.

I will give $10 to the person who can definitively prove which parent this child looks like.Anne was actually successful in hiding from me one day. She climbed into the cabinet (where the CrockPot usually lives) and closed the door. It was hilarious! I could hear her but didn't see her and then she popped her head out at me. We both had a good laugh.

The First Day of School

Anne started her sure-to-be-stellar academic career today. She had her first day of preschool! I have been trying to be appropriately excited: happy for her, but aware that preschool is not that big of a deal :) She got up bright and early today and let me take some pictures before I headed off to school myself.

Here's her "Class of 2026" shirt. The idea is that she'll wear it for a photo each year on the first day of school so that you can see her growth over time.Sambo got into the school spirit a few days ago by wearing his own backpack
This morning he posed in his jammies. We say, "Show us your muscles" and he says, "My pipes!"
Anne was silly with her backpack
She was very excited to go to school
"Now one with funny faces" she said
I had to add this one...you can see how Sambo just does whatever she does!
I didn't get too many details from Anne about the day. By the time I got to her she had been grilled by Daddy, Oma, and Opa (though she didn't say much to any of them). I'm sure more information will emerge as the days progress.

The Family Expansion Continues

Here's the whole big bunch!

Erin and Todd; Mom and Dad; Will and Adrienne; Travis; the Westphalls

Yay!
(I obviously did not take this picture. Photo credit to the professional, of course. Kudos, also, to Adrienne's sister Christa, who was making my kids smile behind the camera)

Preschool Screening

Anne had her official school district preschool screening today. Daddy got to take her and observe the whole thing. Here are the highlights:

She is 41 inches tall and weighed 34.5 lbs.

Sam described her as a "steamroller" when she went into the classroom to play. She waltzed right up to a group of kids playing with the kitchen and said, "Oh, you can sit here and you can eat this. I will heat up your pancakes!" She's not shy....

She performed well on her physical tests; she struggled just a bit with balancing on one foot.

She surprised Sam by being able to complete analogies. One was "A bird flies, a fish _____" (the answer is "swims", obviously)

Anne told me her favorite things were: playing kitchen, playing with the babies, and building blocks. She also liked that Daddy put her in charge of the papers and that she got a name tag.

I have NO IDEA how these things are scored, but a minimum score of 15 is required to be "ready" for preschool. A score of 15-21 is considered normal for children ages 4-6. Our little monster scored a 22. Bam! Seriously, if she could write more than one letter she would be ready for kindergarten.

Sunday school starts this week and the first day of preschool is Monday. Time for our girl to get out in the world.

Shopping!

That is totally my likeness on this t-shirt....For Anne? Or perhaps a reason to have #3?
To buy, go here: http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=futurelibrarian