Something There

"We'll wait and see...a few days more...there may be something there that wasn't there before." (Something There, Beauty and the Beast)

Laura has changed by leaps and bounds from summer 2012 to summer 2013.  Some of it may be due to the fact that last summer, she was dealing with a huge change with the birth of Ryan.  But up to about age 4, Laura had always been a pretty shy, timid girl, hesitant to take chances or try new things.  She would cry upon separation or out of frustration in not knowing how to handle something new (swimming lessons, smacking a pinata at a birthday party, etc.)

This summer Laura has become a much more confident, grown-up big girl and Mike and I could not be prouder.  She takes a lot of pride herself in being a good big sister, and loves to entertain and help with Ryan.  If you remember, swimming lessons last year was kind of a disaster.  She entered the same "guppies" class this year and was still a bit hesitant about putting her head under the water, but didn't cry every day at lessons.  Parents only get to watch two of the days in the session; once in the middle and once on the last day.  On the middle viewing day, she did ok but was still trying to avoid water on her face.  Both Mike and I watched the last day and were astounded to see this little fish in the water, bravely ducking her head under, floating on her back, and jumping in without hesitation. He thought I was kind of a dork but I got a little teary thinking of how far she had come in a year.

Another sign to me that she was more confident was our yearly summer park party.  The park and rec department puts this event on and offers crafts, snacks, face painting and hairdos, and the police car and fire truck visit.  In previous years, Laura would want a cookie, would maybe do a craft or two, and check out the fire truck.  She's probably declined face painting on about 5 different occasions.  This year, she marched right up to face painting and asked for a butterfly all by herself, and then scooted over to the hair station and had her hair sprayed with pink and purple streaks.  She climbed up in the fire truck and had a chat with a firefighter, and when she saw kids were getting police badges, walked right on over to the uniformed police officer and politely asked for a badge.  One of her gymnastics friends appeared on the scene and she ran right over to say hello and ask her to play.  It was so fun to watch her get the most out of an event and really enjoy it.

When we were at Ruttger's for vacation a couple of weeks ago, she really wanted to attend Kids' Kamp (the child care program) one morning for a pirate island pontoon ride and treasure hunt.  My stomach was in knots all morning long before I dropped her off - she didn't know any of the kids, all the leaders were new and unfamiliar to me, they were going to be out on the water - but she was very firm about wanting to go. When I dropped her off she was definitely the youngest but there was no hesitation when I said goodbye, and when I went back to pick her up she asked to stay longer!  She also was not afraid to approach or speak to other kids (we are trying to break her habit of actually calling unknown kids "kid"), saying hi to kids she met at Kids's Kamp or approaching older kids to ask to borrow pool toys.

A couple of days ago, a big sparkly pink princess backpack arrived in the mail.  It's for preschool.  I can't believe I have a kid who is going to put that on her back and walk in the door to start her education in a little more than a month.  She knocks my socks off and I can't wait to see what happens when we unleash her on the rest of the world.  As Mike and I say, "Love that Gooz."

I leave you with a conversation from this evening:
Laura (quietly to herself): "In two more days I get to be a princess..."
Mom: "Why do you have to wait two more days until you can be a princess?"
L: "Because mom, that's my schedule."

Garden in full bloom

Cucumber Competition

It's time for my annual garden post. Take a look back at this one in 2011. Laura has changed quite a bit.

Trying to find something to harvest.

Each growing season, Laura looks forward to eating peas out of the garden. A better way of phrasing it, she loves it! Unfortunately, each year those pesky rabbits get to them before she does. I finally caved in and put up a fence. In doing so, the pea crop has flourished and Laura has been eating a ton of peas.

Laura proudly sitting next to her cilantro.

Cilantro
This spring at daycare, Laura started cilantro from seed. She brought it home and we quickly transplanted it into the garden. Look at it now! FYI- it's to her left.

I have to admit, it's been fun watching her get excited about the garden. She wants to see her cilantro grow, eat peas, and pick other vegetables.


What have I done?
As the sole cucumber eater in this house, I have had the pleasure of harvesting, slicing, and EATING bowls full of the yummy vegetable year after year. It looks as though that tradition has come to an end.

This year, I had encouraged, somewhat urged, and maybe egged on Laura to join in on the cucumber fun. Knowing that she would reply with "Yuck Dad!" I stayed persistent. Then one day, I gave Ryan a bite and he demanded more. *Side note...I should have known, he eats anything and everything.

Laura watched and quickly wanted in. She grabbed a slice, took a bite, and loved it. We now have started a daily ritual. Each day, Laura, Ryan and I sit on the floor to eat the day's harvest. To my surprise, Laura eats them so fast I can't keep pace. So much for enjoying a bowl of cucumbers in peace. 

Daily feeding location -on the floor.

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day 2013

July 4th began with water fun on the deck. Grandma Barb and Bapa gave us a water table and the kids played with it all morning. Splash!

After afternoon naps, we headed to Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis for a little stroll around the lake. Actually, we walked a quarter of the way to the beach, slid down a slide once, then turned around to go back.

On our way back, we stopped at Fat Lorenzo's for dinner - pizza. The weather was beautiful, sunny, and warm with a slight breeze. It was a no-brainer to sit outside!

Girls on one side...

Boys on the other!

Before we had left, Mom surprised us with an ice cream treat - Chocolate Chip Gelato. Everyone enjoyed it. In fact, Laura and Mom fought for the final scoops!

Super excited to eat chocolate chip gelato!

Even Ryan couldn't resist! He gave Mom a big landing spot for the spoon.

Laura's first fireworks

I had asked Laura earlier in the day if she wanted to see the fireworks. If you remember, she has been no fan of the loud boomers. She answered "YES!" with excitement but also had concerns that they would be too loud. Rather than drive somewhere, we chose to sit on our deck and watch our neighbors blow them off. It's not a bad show.

We told her to fall asleep and we would wake her up when it was time. Wishful thinking. She came up with every excuse in the book on why she came out of her room. Who could blame her?!?

Once the neighborhood fireworks started, Laura screamed with excitement. She told us, "This is the best night ever!"

"This is the best night ever!"

This was her face after every firework! Priceless.

Great view of our neighbors blowing off big fireworks!

The amazing thing about the fireworks was that Ryan slept through the whole thing! FYI - Ryan is a very light sleeper!!! If the TV is too loud or someone walks by his door and steps on a creeky floor board, he wakes up! I can't believe he slept through it.

Ry-Roo Gets a Haircut

Well, the Ry-guy's hair was getting way too long.  I did already give his hair a trim in early May, but it was poorly done and had already grown quite a bit.  His Justin Bieber sideswipe/Donald Trump toupee look worked for awhile but the hair kept falling back into his face.  As the mom, I was the hesitant one because I didn't want to see his sweet baby hair (he's getting curls in back!) snipped off.  As the dad, Mike was hesitant because he knew it was going to be a scream-fest.  And he was right.

Pre-Haircut:

So we arrive at the establishment.  Ryan was sobbing as soon as we put him in the seat.  He can be a little sensitive around people he doesn't know well.  The lady was nice and did a great job despite his hysterics, but she did have sort of a severe look about her (not much of a smiler) and I think that added to his fear.

Here we are consulting on the 'do; a cape has been added which caused additional freak-out because he could not get his arms out.

Many tricks were used in order to get through the haircut: video, Mum-Mum crackers, Laura blowing bubbles, and finally a Dum-Dums sucker (bad idea in hindsight, too much hair flying about and he kept removing the sucker for big sobs).  Here he is at a calmer moment.

Oh, Ry Ry.  We survived and I gave a big tip.  Ryan shrieked when we took the hair-covered sucker away and proceeded to do the big, body-shaking sighs and sobs for another 5 minutes after we walked out.

Goodbye Sweet Curls in the back.

Ryan's Bedtime Story

Bedtime

Fishing Trip 2013

Canada Fishing Trip on Father's Day

I hope we don't continue this tradition but it's looking like we will...fishing on Father's Day. This year's trip was the best ever (for me personally). I caught my largest walleye (23.5") and largest fish ever, muskie (42"). I caught a personal best 100 fish on this trip (80 walleye, 12 muskie/pike, and 8 other species).

Even though I had so much success and fun fishing, I really missed my kids. Goes without saying, I missed Mom too.

Before I had left, Ryan was just starting to walk. Seven days later, he's a little man stumbling and bumbling his way from room to room! That's a big change in one week.

But the reason why I missed my family so much was because of something Laura did. She secretly stuffed a beautifully written letter in my duffle bag and I opened it up on Father's Day. Here it is...

Laura's Father's Day Note 2013

Isn't this the best? I love it!

Since this was my best fishing trip ever, I should document it. I highly doubt I will catch a bigger fish in my lifetime...but it's sure worth trying!

A shot of Bobbies Bay from our cabin at Sportsman's Lodge on Oak Island.

Eating lunch on a secluded island.

My largest walleye. 23.5". Rewarded with a deer stick.

12 year old Max lands the largest walleye this year 25.5". First time on this trip. Lucky!

Walleye fishing was slow so we decide to try for pike.

Caught this 42" Muskie on a white spinner.

Took many runs and fought hard! Great fun!

Here is a very short video clip of the fish. Had to get this beast back into the water.

Ryan is 13 Months!

Look out everyone, here's 13-month old Ryan!

Likes: Food, especially cheese, berries, and crackers, the remote, running away/chasing/wrestling games, pushing the lawnmower and car around in the basement, opening drawers and cupboards, making the "roar" sound, favorite books right now are Barnyard Dance, Goodnight Moon, and the "Peekaboo" book, doing anything he has been told "no" about

Maybe I won't get caught with the remote this time...

Dislikes: Signing for what he wants (would rather just screech about it), laying down for diaper changes, being put down for a nap - throws everything out of the crib and then screams for it

Any new tricks? Above you can see a pretty good representation of Ryan's walking skills; his grandma refers to it as the "drunken sailor." He's preferring to walk more and more, but he's really tipsy and falls down quite a bit.  He's using the "more" and "all done" signs less and less, but has learned to shake his head side to side as a way to indicate "no" and he does this all the time.  The other word he's learned and uses ALL.THE.TIME is "dat" aka "that."  He points incessantly at everything and always wants to know what "that" is.  His love for the remote sometimes causes me to have to hide it when Laura is watching her shows.  Unfortunately, Ryan has figured out my favorite spot (under the couch pillows) and knows to just pull the pillows off the couch to access it.

Well, hello, ladies.  Ignore my diaper sticking out of my saggy swim shorts.

And this is why we keep him around...

Adversity

Life isn't easy...

Laura has reached a stage where I have a pretty good idea how she will respond to adversity. She is generally calm and mild-mannered but from time to time we get a glimpse of a melt down. When I say melt down, it's a mad face, angry tone, a little yelling, and sometimes tears. This is pretty typical at 4 years old.

On the other hand, Ryan is completely different (in comparison with Laura at age 1). Recently, he has become aggressive, vocal, and squirmy. We never saw that with Laura. The sheer volume of his screams can best be described as "Bloody Murder." I hope this is a passing phase.

Here are a few clips of the kids facing adversity. Laura riding her bike uphill (angry) and climbing the slide backwards (not angry). Ryan is trying to pull down the balloon (good thing he is content with not being able to get to it).

First Steps

Ryan is almost walking. Almost. And you can see that he really wants to. In the basement, he takes the lawn mower or car and pushes it around the room, then lets go to take a few steps. Upstairs, he launches himself off the couch or ottoman.

A couple of days ago, we watched Ryan take about 8-10 steps! Too bad the camera was in another room, it was a great moment. Mom and I tried to recapture that in the video below.

This video shows a couple of walking attempts but more importantly what Ryan likes on the main level. He wants to be chased, climbs stairs, pounds toys, pulls on drawers, and sticks fingers in outlets. You know, boy things!

 

Ryan is 1!

Height:
Weight:
(Info to come after upcoming doctor appointment)

Likes: Moving around- never sitting still, eating (favorites include string cheese, frozen mixed vegetables, strawberries, raspberries, and whatever we're eating for dinner), crawling up the stairs, playing in the bathroom (tub and toilet are of greatest interest), chasing games, pulling open drawers, Laura's puppy, his sleep sack which is fast becoming his "lovey"

Dislikes: Waiting for food, being put in the exersaucer, grass (he will stay put on a blanket on the grass), the changing table/diaper changes/changing clothes - has started to swat at us when we put him down

Any new tricks? He gets ever closer to walking - lots of cruising around on furniture, testing out letting go while standing, trying out a step or two before crashing. Ryan understands the word "kiss" and will give you a big, wet, open-mouthed bite on the cheek if you ask for one. He waves when you say "bye bye" and says "Da da" very clearly when daddy comes into the room. We switched to drinking milk instead of formula this week but haven't ditched the bottles yet. Ryan knows how to bounce and will climb on the trampoline and bounce himself on his crib mattress too!

What a crazy year when you consider how Ryan's life started out and what he's like today!  He totally wears me out - chasing him is a full-time job in itself - but he is such a fun and happy kid that you can't help enjoying being around him.

May 10, 2012