Story Time

Here is the conversation I had with Sophia today:


- Hey Mom! Hey Mom! Hey Mom! I have something to tell you.

- Yes Sophia. What is it?

- One day there was a girl and she was riding her bicycle. And she rode around and around. And then the storm cloud came. And then the prince said, " let's dance." And they dance and dance and they live happily ever after. The End. It was Cinderella Mom. The girl was Cinderella!


Story telling just started this last week but I haven't been able to remember them by the time I had a chance to blog until tonight. She told me this story after supper so I was able to remember it better. I am very impressed that she can do this since she isn't even 2 1/2 yet. She also told me the other day that leaves were green because of chlorophyll.

A funny thing about James. He has been going up to the refrigerator and yelling "Ahhb". I had no idea what he meant until he went up to the van before we left on errands and yelled "Ahhb". He is saying 'abre' (open in Spanish). Sophia does this to her van door and then I push the key fob to make it open. She thinks that by saying "abre" her door automatically opens. Apparently now James thinks the same thing too.

Pedal!

Today we were in the driveway playing and the neighbor boys came over (Jackson and Taylor). Sophia and James love playing with the boys. They had their bikes today. Sophia was watching the boys ride their bikes. She told us she wanted her tricycle so we got it out for her and she hopped on and with a little push, she started pedaling!!! She pedaled all around the driveway. We were very excited. She's funny though because as soon as the boys left, she went back to using her feet to push it along. Silly girl.

Housing update: things are going smoothly. I don't remember is I updated everyone but we bought a new house. It has plenty of bedrooms (5-6 - any visitors?), a playroom for the kids, full basement with pool table, poker table, and bar, exercise room, etc. The kitchen has lots of room and two seperate sinks (one for vegetables at one area of the kitchen and then one double regular sink by the window) so I am excited for that. Inspections are done and they went well. Expected repairs are needed on our current house, no surprises were reported. Our new house had a good inspection too with a few things that won't take long to get fixed by an electrician or plumber. We still have to negotiate on those items but I do not anticipate it being too bad. Let's pray that everything keeps going smoothly. I have lists galore of things to do. I even have a list of plants that I liked here at our current house so I can buy new and plant them at the new house. Can you believe that there are no maple trees planted at the new house?! I believe they have all River Birch and White Pines. I am going to need a maple tree that blooms yellow in the fall and a Colorado Blue Spruce.

Jim is working a lot this month. I hope he is getting enough rest. He had to do a lot of trades to be off dates in August and it just so happened that they all fell in July. He is doing well so far. Jim seems to have a good attitude most of the time and he hasn't lost it yet. I hope that doesn't change by the time he is finished working all of his shifts.

Let's see, James is the only one I haven't updated. He is cute and rotten at the same time :) He loves his school bus and if you try to play with him with it he will scowl at you. He is walking and climbing very well. He signs 'more' and 'want' when he needs something. He says daily: done, down, up, hi, Dad, high, no, yeah. He is started to get a better accuracy with pointing to pictures and is attempted to name pictures or say parts of a story now. He's so cute. Mostly though he is spoiled and Mama's/Sophia's Boy. What more can you ask for!

SOLD!

Well we finally sold our house - Yeah! Finally a good offer came in and we accepted, after a few counters of course. I do have mixed emotions. I love living where we do, especially the yard. But, I am very excited about our new house. We don't have one yet but we are going out tomorrow to look. Jim and I have looked for the past 3 years and only found a handful that we would be happy living in so wish us luck that we will get one that we want. Luckily there is one on the market that we really like.

Happy Independence Weekend!

Let's Pray

Yesterday James started to pray with us at meal time. It is so cute! Sophia has always been really good about this. She stops eating if she has already started and will pray with us before the meal. Sometimes she even reminds us that she is waiting to pray. Well, now James has joined in. He had the biggest smile on his face while we prayed and he kept his hands together. ADORABLE! Also tonight, at bedtime prayers, Sophia said, "Stop Mom. I want to say my own prayer." Then she did the sign of the cross and said her usual prayer. It was sweet because it was the first time she did the sign of the cross all by herself.

Not Much Going On

Well, there doesn't seem to be much going on here this week. Jim is working the banker's shift this week (which I hate). He is supposed to get off of work at 4 everyday but it always ends up being 5 or 5:30 or 6. Yuk! Anyway, the kids and I have been holding down the fort while he has been at work. We tried to go the to zoo 3 times this week but thunderstorms around the zoo kept us at home.

Jim and I did have a date night this week. We started off looking at 3 houses with our realtor. I found the house I LOVE. Unfortunately I am not so sure it is the one that Jim likes. He likes the other house we looked at better. We'll see what happens. The third house was way to modern for us but looked great on the outside. It all really doesn't matter though because we have to sell our house first. We have had several people who supposedly want to buy the house but have to sell their house first too. Last week we had someone who really likes it and they have an offer on their house but it hasn't been accepted yet. I guess they are still trying to work things out. We will see what happens there.

Tomorrow I am taking the kids to the Fishers Farmer's Market again. There is a women there who makes gerbera daisy hair bows (I have to call them bows otherwise Sophia won't wear them. They are really clips). I put in an order for 4 "bows" in specific colors last week and I am going to pick them up tomorrow. I can't wait!

Sunday we are going to pick up Mom. She is staying with Beck this week to help prep for baptism. I just ordered a new skirt for baptism and I hope it works out.

To Change or Not to Change...

Here's a question. Let's say, hypothetically of course :), that you have two small children in the bathtub. One pees in the water at the beginning of the bath. The other one thinks its funny and pees in the water also. Do you:

1) bath them in the pee and say "oh well, pee is sterile"
2) change the water immediately
3) Decide that you will only change the water if there are floaters in the bathtub (and by floaters I mean poop).

I'll see if I can add this as a poll and see what people think.

Tiny Tidbits

Here are some interesting tidbits on my lovely children:

* They both eat a banana (or part of one) and drink a glass of milk before bedtime every night....EVERY night.
* Sophia picks her nose and then asks me to take the booger off of her finger.
* They both love french toast and eggs for breakfast. Pancakes are a big hit too...James will eat 2-4 pancakes at one sitting.
* Sophia went a full year of eating only oatmeal in the morning before Daddy introduced her to french toast. Gone are the days of easy oatmeal.
* James like to wear only one shoe (of his Stride Rites...he will wear his Robeez without any problems)
* Sophia procrastinates at bedtime by having you name all of the people in the Bible.
* James drinks about 36 - 48 oz of whole milk every day ... and he is still skinny as a rail!
* They both LOVE playing in their play kitchen.
* Sophia wants earrings so she can look even more like a princess.
* James loves wagon rides.
* Sophia doesn't want to learn how to pedal...."that for boys" is what she says.
* I think James is happier when he is dirty from head to toe.
* Sophia is happier when she is clean.
* Sophia requests that her feet are washed with soap and water when she comes in from playing outside...even if she does have her shoes on.
* James' side of the table is always clean when we are done eating...because all of the food he doesn't want to eat is on the floor.
* Sophia will eat fruit all day long if I let her.
* James will eat ice cream all day long if I let him.
* Sophia gets excited when the neighbor boys come outside to play. She says Taylor is her friend.
* Sophia has put in a request for a new baby sister...and when she says it, she says it like it is all that she has ever dreamed of.
* James is right-handed. It is very obvious already.
* Sophia seems to be right-handed too but she will still use her left hand for things.
* James tries to open the door to his bedroom from his crib. He is getting close to actually opening it.
* James loves to ride on Daddy's shoulders...it's a good view from there.
* Sophia wants to feed all of us with a spoon. Open wide!
* James laughs at people dancing...Hello Ellen!
* Sophia thinks a bandaid fixes everything. Yesterday she had on 8 bandaids and tonight she wanted one on Daddy's lip for "a red spot".
* Sophia says some books are for boys and some books are for girls. Where she gets this we have no idea.
* James will take off the floor register covers and throw his toys down into the duct work. I have no idea how many toys we have lost this way. Today he threw his Stride Rites down there but I was able to get them out.

Mommy confession: I love bath time...I do. The kids play...or scream...and water gets everywhere and James and Sophia crawl all over each other and pour water on each other and laugh a lot oh, it's so much fun. However, there are many days where I would rather wash the dirty bed sheets in the morning than wash the dirty child at night. Sorry, but I have those days.

Birthday Birthday Birthday

So last week was so much fun. First of all, James turned 1! I can't believe it! On his birthday we went to the zoo. Every school in the state of Indiana was there. It was also Zoopolis so there were a lot of activities. The kids got to feed the giraffes (which Jim liked the best) and we saw the penguins being fed (which I think James liked the best). I liked the brown bears and the walrus (always entertaining) and Sophia liked the butterflies...and the ice cream. This time at the zoo, Jim and I packed a picnic lunch and that saved us a lot of money. I think we will do that again. We were going to ride the zoo train but it was closed for painting. Sophia always gets excited when we see the merry-go-round and she says she always wants to ride it...but she never does. She is actually afraid of them...funny girl. We topped off James' birthday with homemade manicotti and birthday cake and ice cream. Beck and the boys came over along with Marc and Leann. It was a nice time.

On Friday of that week we spent the whole day at Gymboree and had a great time. Both James and Sophia had a music class and then they had their regular Gymboree class. In between we ate at Cafe Patachou's. I love eating there. All of the food is organic and most of it comes from Indiana farmers. I had blueberry iced tea for the first time - YUMMO! I recommend sweetening it.

Saturday was my birthday. Jim and the kids surprised me by buying a new bike. There wasn't anything wrong with my old one, I just wanted one that was a cruiser. You know...old fashioned...high handlebars...maybe a bell or basket...big white wall tires...big seat...and mint green! I love it. It has the old fashioned brakes and doesn't even have gears. It's great. It makes bike rides fun again. So, after I received the bike, we went on a bike ride. I loved being able to relax and look around. After the bike ride, we all got ready for the day, ate lunch, took naps, and then it was time for James' Gymboree birthday party. I made a train cake. It turned out pretty neat I think. Everyone said it tasted good too.

Sunday was again a relaxing day of family time and bike rides. Monday Jim went back to work and we went back to the same ol' activities. James did have a doctor's appointment today. He is in the 97% in height (32 inches), 65% in weight (23 pounds 4 ounces) and 90% in head (I forget what size). In other words, he is built like Jim...tall and skinny.

As soon as I get my pictures downloaded I will post them. My laptop is sooooo sloooooow!

First Year Pictures

We went back to Celebrity Kids for James' First Year pictures. I loved how they turned out. I will have to fill you in on our Birthday Week next time (it's midnight and I'm tired) but here are Jamesie's pictures.

Tulip Time

Last week Jim and I took the kids to the Tulip Festival in Holland, MI. It was a great time. Jim and I had been there before but it's been several years. Since Jim is half Dutch, we want to take the kids there to enjoy some of the Dutch heritage. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

We first went to the Tulip Farm and walked through all of the fields of tulips. They have all of the tulips numbered so you can order which ones you like at the very end. The problem was that I liked almost all of them! Sophia liked to "help" the tulips out that had not actual bloomed yet but peeling back the petals. James just walked along and, fearing what he might do to the tulips, we kept him away from them. At the tulip farm you can also watch wooden shoes being made. Of course Sophia made us each try on some shoes. She loves shoes.

Then we went to the hotel, got checked in, and went back out to watch the dancer. Everyday they have people dance in the street with Dutch clothing on and wooden shoes. It is fun to watch. Sophia and James really enjoyed that. Sophia still talks about the parades we saw.

The next day we got up early and went to Windmill Island. They have a windmill that is actually functional and from Holland! We took a tour inside and walked through all of the shops. Then we watched a parade, which was full of people! The neat thing about this parade was that they washed the street. Hundreds of people in Dutch clothing and wooden shoes had brooms and buckets and they cleaned the streets. They used the water in the fire hydrants. It was Wed. afternoon and it seemed like the whole town was there. The parades have themes and that parade was the marching band parade. It was very noisy.

We then decided to go the the Dutch Village. It was fun. They had some animals there and shops and parks, etc. It was a miniature version of a real Dutch village so it was pretty neat. They actually make Edam cheese and it tasted really good. By the time we finished that the kids had had enough and so we went back to the hotel and went to bed.

The last day we checked out of the hotel and went to Tunnel Island. It was nice but chilly. The children did not care though. I was surprised that Sophia didn't mind getting her feel dirty and sandy (she is on a clean feet kick right now). It was a wonderful trip and everyone had a great time!!!

I have tried to load pictures to show the fun but it seems to be taking forever tonight so I will post them later.