Hot damn!

Natalie knows how to tie shoes now! Miracle of miracles, it took all of 15 minutes for her to nail it!

What a character...

Got Oliver to bed, as usual, while Jon put Natalie to bed. Jon just came down - said as he was leaving Natalie's room, he saw Oliver's hand sticking out under his door - was just waving it back and forth. lol Went in, and Oliver told him he went poopy. Why he didn't say anything through the monitor, or actually say something when he heard Jon leave Natalie's room, is beyond me, but the mental image of the little hand shoved under the door is killing me..

Goin' to the chapel

Last night, Oliver came up to me with a broken earring (hoop) that I let him play with. Told he wanted to give me a ring. I asked him if he was asking me to marry him - he said "Yes". So I accepted, we were laughing. Then I called him my husband - got an indignant "I am not YOUR husband, I'm Nanee's husband". I pretended to cry, and he asked what was wrong. I told him "I thought we were getting married".

He heaved a disgusted sigh and said "OK. FINE. I'll marry you tomorrow".

Happy Birthday, Oliver!

Our big boy turned 3 today, and to quote Oliver "Everybody had a great time!". When he got up this morning, I sang "Happy Birthday", complete with "cha cha chas", to his delight. Had a little breakfast, opened his gift from Aunt Jamie (Superman toy and a blue satin superhero cape - dude was over the moon!", then we headed out. Went to get some Toy Story plates and napkins, and a Jessie doll to go with his Woody and Buzz (Dee-da sent him a check, and told me to buy him something he wanted). Next stop was a haircut, per his request. Had a little lunch, then we went to the party store for balloons, got home just in time for nap. He wore the cape the whole time we were gone - so cute!

After his nap, Mitz and Pops came over, and he opened his gifts. Then we went to Chuck E Cheese - kids had a blast! Oliver wore his cape again, along with his special birthday shirt (Superman logo with the "S" replaced with a "3"". I climbed up in the tunnels that line the ceiling with him - man, it stinks up there. Oliver wanted Chuck E to come over, so he could tell the big rodent that he has a beautiful hiney (Oliver's highest compliment), but Chuck E didn't... So Oliver stood up at the table and trash talked Chuck E. He was babbling most of it, so we have no idea what he said, but the tone of voice was all tough guy. Had cake and ice cream... Our baker outdid herself again - the cake matched his shirt and was incredible! Found Whoppers (Oliver's favorite chocolate candy) ice cream by Breyers (and it is so gross, but Oliver liked it), so we brought that too!

On the way home, I was trying to get Oliver to pick a favorite birthday present. He mentioned this Buzz Lightyear Shake and Go car, that was one of his gifts from us. Natalie said "Don't you mean the Woody hat? Don't you love that hat?" (that's what she "gave" him - and it's really cool - nice sized, licensed Woody hat, not cheap plastic either - he wore that to CEC too!). He said "I WUV that hat! Thank you giving me my cowboy hat, Nanee". Natalie said "So is it your favorite?". Oliver said "Yes". She said "Good". We were dying. It was probably funnier being there...

As we left CEC, Oliver told all of us "I do love you Mommy". "I do love you Daddy". "I do love you Nanee". "I do love Mitz and Pops", and "EVERYBODY HAD A GREAT TIME". We read a book that Grandma Carol sent him, and as I finished it, he said "I do love Grandma". <3 Great day. Just a wonderful day with my big boy!

And Happy Birthday to Aunt Jamie too!!

Ooof, forgot, 2nd quarter report cards!

Natalie had a fabulous report card! We're so proud of her. All 3s and 4s (As and Bs) - quite a few 4s, and a few in areas where her teacher says she doesn't often give them out at this point. She's on level, or proficient in every area that is graded. Her teacher says she is the type of student who makes teaching fun.

Mrs. K also told me that Natalie is quite the rule-follower at school, and gets irritated when other kids don't follow the rules. She said she'll look over at Natalie when someone else isn't following the rules, just so she can see Natalie rolling her eyes. LOL

Natalie also passed her belt testing last semester - she's now a green belt, and will add in sparring within the next couple of weeks. We just need to get her equipment.

Smooth talker

Oliver has been big on compliments lately. "I like your laptop, Mommy. It's beautiful!". "I like your cute shirt".... However, the best was a couple of days ago. I was getting dressed when Oliver burst into my closet (I had on underwear) and exclaimed "I like your cute hiney, Mommy! It's beautiful!".

He likes to receive compliments as well... If I tell him he's cute, he'll usually reply "Uh huh. I am cute".

And, I think I've mentioned his chocolate milk dance - he's been doing this since he was a little over a year old. When he wants chocolate milk (and when doesn't he?), he does a bouncy little dance, while chanting "choc choc choc choc". About a week ago, he was doing his choc dance, and I wasn't giving in. So he switched it up a bit. Got right up in my face and said "I LOVE chocolate milk, Mommy! It's my FAVORITE. Mmmmmmm *rubbed his belly*". I caved.

Holidays

This will be brief - wanted to write something before I forget it... Just said good-bye to Grandma this morning (we miss her already!) - had a great week with her here in AZ!

Christmas was wonderful - the kids were so excited - had such a lovely day. But what I don't want to forget is... Little Man didn't get a nap on Christmas, so by the end of the day, he was just done. I found him sitting under the tree just before bedtime, eyes glazed over, mumbling repeatedly "Wanna open more presents". LOL

Happy New Year!

Happy 6th Birthday!

Natalie turned 6 today. It doesn't seem possible! Had a nice day... Picked my mom up this morning (still can't drive after her recent surgery), and she sat in the house while Oliver slept, so I could take birthday treats to Natalie's class. Came home, Natalie opened her presents, then we went out to dinner. Mom couldn't make it - some issues with her surgical site (but was checked out and is fine!) had to run her home so Jim (was supposed to be heading into work - graveyards) could take her to her doctor, so Natalie's best friend's mom let Trinity come with us. Went to a local pizza place called Organ Stop Pizza - good pizza and an incredible organ that comes up out of the stage, light show, puppets, can't really describe it well enough to do it justice. All three kids had a blast - the only time Oliver was unhappy was during The Phantom of the Opera - that scared him. But, the organist played O Holy Night (my favorite carol), and it was the most beautiful version I'd ever heard. Got a Happy Birthday played for Natalie as well!

Overall, a good day. We missed Mitz, Natalie was quite distraught, but at least she got to spend several hours with her this afternoon.

Had her friends birthday party this past Saturday - at Build A Bear. 16 kids from class came! Had a big group, but they all had a blast!

And Happy Birthday to Aunt Annie as well! Missed her call, and got home late, but will hopefully catch up tomorrow.... Which happens to be Grandma's birthday!

"Is Natalie there?"

First phone call from a boy. Ooof. Not sure I'm ready for this!

It was too funny though... Natalie got all girly and giggly when I gave her the phone. Wasn't much of a conversation, apparently Josh just wanted to know her birthday, then "gotta go". She was a little confused at how abruptly the call ended, and the look on her face was hilarious!

Looked him up in last year's yearbook, remarked that he's cute (has a great smile). Natalie said "YEAH. He's CUUUUTE".

Road Raging

Oliver and I were waiting to exit the freeway yesterday, stopped at a redlight behind a line of cars. All of a sudden I heard "MOVE IDIOT BUTT" from the back. I asked him "Did you just say 'move your butt, idiot?'". He grinned, said "Uh HUH! Like Mommy do!".

Bring a gas mask

Natalie told me the following just now (triggered by me having Oliver pulling my finger, mass hilarity for both kids!):

"I farted a lot in school today. Some were quiet, some were loud. Chloe thought it was funny. Elise said she never farts, she holds it in. We need to let Elise borrow Oliver's 'The Gas We Pass' book, because she doesn't know you have to pass that gas".

She kills me! I should add... She wasn't farting in class to be disruptive - both kids have been pretty gassy this week!

Dinner tonight...

Oliver went on a steak strike. Natalie said she was going to eat his, and forked a piece from his plate - trying to reverse psychology him. Instead of him flipping out, as he would most of the time, he said "eat it all", scooped up all of his pieces, and put them on her plate..

Halloween

A little late... The kids had a blast on Halloween! Natalie was Dr. Frankenstein, Oliver was Frankenstein, I was the Bride of Frankenstein, and Jon was Igor. They got lots of candy! We went to see Mitz and Pops first, then came back here to hand out our treats, and trick or treat.

The week before Halloween, we were teaching Oliver how to ToT. It was really cute! I'd go in the powder room, and shut the door. Oliver would grab his pumpkin, knock on the door, and when I opened it, said "Trick or Treat", wait for me to put something in his pumpkin, and then "thank you". The night of Halloween, he said "Trick or Treat" at every house, without being prompted, and somewhere along the way, started saying "Haaaaaap.......py Haw-weeeeeen", very slowly and very seriously - it was the cutest thing ever. Then the next day, he told us "get dark and get candy". :-P

Jon carved a bunch of pumpkins for the kids - did a great job. We had a Buzz Lightyear, Batman symbol, Batman face, and Spiderman face.

Quote of the evening went to Natalie though... On the way back home, she said "I can't WAIT to get to the sugar rush".

First quarter report card!

Natalie received her first quarter report card this past week, and I had our first parent-teacher conference of the school year. She is doing really, really well! Her teacher says she loves having Natalie in class, she's respectful, organized and a good friend to her classmates. She is one of her teacher's three go-to kids for other classmates who struggle a bit socially - that makes me really proud. She's very sensitive and kind, and I'm so glad she's a friend to everyone. Academically, she's also doing very well. Grading scale is 1-4, with 4 being the highest. Her teacher said that she gives out very few 4s this early in the year, as that indicates mastery. Natalie's report card was all 3s and quite a few 4s! This Tuesday is her Student of the Month assembly, which Oliver and I are looking forward to attending!

Little Monkey

While in Chicago, Oliver taught himself to climb in and out of the crib at Grandma's house. It was hilarious, and I foolishly thought that since his crib at home is lower to the ground (it just seems deeper because of how low it is), that it wouldn't be an issue at home. Yeah, not so much. Not 24 hours after we got home, he was climbing in and out of our crib, so off came the front, and now he's in a big boy toddler daybed. I took him out to pick out new bedding - he chose Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear, and loves it. I'm not going into a lot of detail, most of the people who would be reading this know the hell we went through when Natalie switched to a bed, but so far, he's doing really, really well!

I just wasn't ready for this - not only the fear of having him less contained, but it's just one more baby thing left behind. He's getting to be such a big boy!

Chicago!

Two weeks ago, we went to Chicago to visit Jon's side of the family. Natalie was on Fall Break, so we had the whole week! Had a great time - the kids had so much fun with their cousins, Will, Maggie and Owen - Oliver is still asking to go to Owen's house. And of course, they loved all of the time they got to spend with Grandma!

The flight out was a little rough - Oliver had a hell of a time, and made his displeasure known. Mama Bear (me, duh) tangled with a couple of fellow passengers, but we arrived safe and sound, and I managed to avoid getting arrested. :-P Natalie was her usual excellent traveler self - she just travels so well. Settles herself down on the plane and sits back and enjoys the ride.

Aunt Lois and Uncle Don drove in from Michigan - which was such a nice surprise! And they came bearing pumpkins, gourds, and some awesome candy. Got the whole group together - I think there was 16 of us (?), and we went to Aurelio's - a great local pizza place in Jon's hometown, where Grandma still lives and works.

Checked out a pumpkin patch too, which was a lot of fun. They had a Moo Choo ride, corn maze, kid's area with animals, you name it, they had it. Great place in Indiana. Go figure though... We left AZ in 90+ degree weather, and that weekend in IL/IN, it was 90 degrees! Mercifully, it cooled down in the early part of the week - we really enjoyed the crisp fall weather. The leaves were even turning, and it was so gorgeous.

Got to take the kids to the Shedd Aquarium, and also the Children's Museum at Navy Pier. Went to the parks around Grandma's house a bunch of times. Visited Grandma at work, at got a full tour of the school, and met a lot of Grandma's colleagues. We also had a chance to see Aunt Elizabeth's and Uncle Matt's new house (gorgeous!) and neighborhood - where Aunt Annie and I nearly got into a brawl at a bakery. Don't ask!

We also took the kids to see Great-Great Auntie Annie, and took her out to dinner. Oliver was fascinated with her wedding picture.

Oliver cracked us up one day... I had gone out to get doughnuts, and I guess Little Man fancied a snack one afternoon, and thought he'd be sneaky. All of a sudden, he came out of the kitchen with a shit-eating grin on his face, rubbing his belly with one hand, holding a doughnut with the other - saying "Mmmmm mmmmm mmmm" over and over. He busted himself!

Natalie was great with her cousins - she and Will really hit it off, and she was so good with Owen and Maggie. Sometime that first weekend, she looked at me and said "It's really great being here with the cousins, isn't it Mommy?".

It was such a great time, and we're looking forward to seeing Grandma out here in December - just a couple more months!

Working on pics. Backlog - sorry!

Soccer girl!

Natalie started soccer two weeks ago - same group with whom she takes karate. Just once a week, on Saturdays, so no weeknight practices to interfere with school, which is good! She's doing really well so far! The first week the coach just had the kids in the field, kicking the ball around and getting comfortable. She was right in there, going after the ball - really cool to see. Especially since I hated all sports. I kind of dig having a daughter who is a budding athlete! My favorite story from that session is, the coach put the kids in their positions. Got Natalie to her spot and told her to stand there. Whistle blew, and all the kids started running and playing, but Natalie stayed put. LOL! I wish she followed directions that well at home! :-P

I missed this week - upper respiratory infection that won't quit. Jon said this week was regular practice, skills building, and Natalie continues to do well. Apparently several parents asked him if she's played before, because she is very natural out there!

She wants to play football too. Oof. Not sure if I'm ready for that, seems so much heavier on contact. I didn't think girls were allowed to play football anyway, but found out that the Pop Warner program out here (and I'm not sure if that is the correct spelling, I haven't looked it up) does, and in fact, on one of the teams, the quarterback is a girl! But for now, I think Daisy/Girl Scouts, soccer and karate are enough activities!

It's a good thing he's cute

Oliver is sleeping with Jon and me this trip. We found out he sleeps very well with us when we were in Baltimore in June, so we decided not to haul along the crib my mom has this time around.

5:30 this morning, Little Man was prying my eyes open. When that didn't work, he resorted to saying "Eat eat Mommy" and proceeded to gnaw on my head.

So I did what any good mom would do. I sent him into the girls' room to torment them. They were already up, but being nice and quiet. I guess they heard him coming, and quickly locked their door. So he started growling outside the door, and when he didn't get a reaction, proceeded to beat on it. Totally wouldn't be funny at home, but I was cracking up this morning!

Tropical Horse

We're in our favorite spot in the mountains for Labor Day weekend - Overgaard, AZ. Having a blast, and Natalie's best friend Trinity joined us this trip! This morning, we took the kids to a town about 30 miles from here, called Taylor, to check out their Sweet Corn Festival. There was a nice kids' area with pony rides and a number of different inflatable bouncers. Natalie kept telling me she wanted to go on the "tropical horse". I reminded her that she and Trinity would be having a pony ride tomorrow at the barn on the property where we stay. She said "No Mommy, THAT", and pointed to the OBSTACLE COURSE.

Oliver needs a post too

Little man has had quite the language explosion lately. He's stringing more and more words together, and is using adjectives often as well. "Mitz funny! Pops funny!".

He likes to pretend play a lot - likes to pretend to be a baby, or various animals.

He seems to be starting to recognize shapes pretty well too. Pointed out a rectangle, heart, and star in a book today and named them all without being prompted.

He still gets pissy when you try to get him to repeat the alphabet. lol

And he sings "na na na na na na na na na na na na na BATMAN" and "Spiderman Spiderman" - in tune for both. He's obsessed with Spiderman - which is so funny because I don't think he's ever watched the show. Natalie has some Spiderman toys, so perhaps that's what sparked his interest. Oliver appears to have radar for Spiderman toys/shirts/pjs/slippers - he can spot that stuff from a mile away. He spied Spiderman slippers today, and I bought them for him. He was so cute - kept saying "Spiderman! Thank you, Mommy", over and over again. And couldn't wait to show them to Natalie when she got home from school.

My current favorite phrase is "fart bubble". Yeah, you read that right. The way he says it is hilarious! Never fails to crack me up!