Oct 29, 2006
How Much is that Doggy in the Mirror?
Last night we all went to a Halloween event at the aviation museum. There were many fun things for Danny to do there. Annelise managed to find a mirror that kept her attention for a while, and I got some good pictures. We don't have many mirrors in our house, so this seemed novel to her.
Friendship
I usually like to post about the kids and my life as a mom, but I can't resist writing about some friends. This last week a childhood friend contacted me through the blog. She lives in DC and we haven't seen each other for 12 years (since we graduated from high school). We met up yesterday morning for breakfast and it was great. The contact with her led me to reflect on friendship.
This person was one of my two closest friends from age 7 to about 15. Our families were very different, but our parents were always very welcoming. In fact, during our upper elementary and junior high years we were probably in each other's homes every other week. I have many, many fond memories of fun times we had together, both at school and home. It was wonderful to see her and be able to catch up on family and reminisce about our youth. We learned a lot from each other as children. We may not have a lot in common now, but she is the type of woman that will always show an interest in what goes on in my life, mostly because of our history. It reminded me how great it is to have a friend who knows where you came from, who knows your family, and who knew you before braces, bras and boys.
I have another close friend that I met in college. We actually met in the bathroom of our dorm. This person knows me like a sister because we spent so much time together during our "becoming adult" years. We have also spent quality time with each other's families, but as adults, bringing our husbands and kids along. We have common interests, and many similar life values, but our personalities are very different and we are quite compatible as friends. We have shared together in marriages, births and the deaths of loved ones. We have laughed and cried together many times. She knows me for who I am and still loves me.
One other friend I met through Randy's graduate school. She is a spouse of Randy's classmate. We just clicked. I don't talk to her that often (although we are now on the same coast), but we connect because we have similar personalities and respond to situations in the same way. We always have so much fun together, and I miss and think of her often.
And then there are the many friends that I have met because of my circumstances. Friends through school, classes, work and parenting. It is amazing how that works! We may not be similar in personality, or interests. We may not have much of a shared history, but those friendships grow so fast because you feel this comradery through shared experiences.
As I am in a new place, making new friends I am reminded of all of the great friends that I have.
This person was one of my two closest friends from age 7 to about 15. Our families were very different, but our parents were always very welcoming. In fact, during our upper elementary and junior high years we were probably in each other's homes every other week. I have many, many fond memories of fun times we had together, both at school and home. It was wonderful to see her and be able to catch up on family and reminisce about our youth. We learned a lot from each other as children. We may not have a lot in common now, but she is the type of woman that will always show an interest in what goes on in my life, mostly because of our history. It reminded me how great it is to have a friend who knows where you came from, who knows your family, and who knew you before braces, bras and boys.
I have another close friend that I met in college. We actually met in the bathroom of our dorm. This person knows me like a sister because we spent so much time together during our "becoming adult" years. We have also spent quality time with each other's families, but as adults, bringing our husbands and kids along. We have common interests, and many similar life values, but our personalities are very different and we are quite compatible as friends. We have shared together in marriages, births and the deaths of loved ones. We have laughed and cried together many times. She knows me for who I am and still loves me.
One other friend I met through Randy's graduate school. She is a spouse of Randy's classmate. We just clicked. I don't talk to her that often (although we are now on the same coast), but we connect because we have similar personalities and respond to situations in the same way. We always have so much fun together, and I miss and think of her often.
And then there are the many friends that I have met because of my circumstances. Friends through school, classes, work and parenting. It is amazing how that works! We may not be similar in personality, or interests. We may not have much of a shared history, but those friendships grow so fast because you feel this comradery through shared experiences.
As I am in a new place, making new friends I am reminded of all of the great friends that I have.
Visitors
My dear friend, Nancy, brought her son David (almost 4 months) from New Hampshire to visit for the week. They arrived on Monday and left on Friday, and the week was pretty normal... hectic! Add one baby on to the schedule and it could get quite amusing. We had a wonderful time shopping and hanging out watching the babies play. We got so many great pictures, but I will only include a few of the best.
Annelise is "blocking out" David! (Maybe she'll learn some of my moves!)
Figuring each other out.
Taking his pacifier!
"Now what are you going to do, David?"
The babies in costume.
The boys in costume.
Annelise is "blocking out" David! (Maybe she'll learn some of my moves!)
Figuring each other out.
Taking his pacifier!
"Now what are you going to do, David?"
The babies in costume.
The boys in costume.Oct 23, 2006
Oct 22, 2006
Fall Farm Festival
Yesterday we all took a trip to Frederick, Maryland to go to a fall festival. The car ride was about one hour, but was filled with beautiful scenery (farms, changing leaves, etc.) and signs that read Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry. Randy and I realized we were driving through Civil War ground. Now that isn't something that happened in Irvine, California!
The farm was beautiful (click here if you want to see it). They had many attractions for little and big kids. There was a huge maze made in a corn field (they called it the maize... get it?), which was too much for our group, but Randy and I are anxious to try it when the kids are older. For the little kids they had pig races, train rides, pony rides, mini-mazes, animals, play areas, and huge slides. Speaking of slides, Danny, Randy and I all took a try at these large slides. So much fun! They even had a mini-slide that Danny wanted to try. Guess what? After 20 or so times on the large slides, it took the tiny 3 foot slide to give him a swollen, cut lip. We ended our time at the farm by taking a hay ride to a field of pumpkins, where we picked out our pumpkin for this year. Danny thought it was a blast! Annelise was pretty much along for the ride. Here are some pictures of our day.
The farm was beautiful (click here if you want to see it). They had many attractions for little and big kids. There was a huge maze made in a corn field (they called it the maize... get it?), which was too much for our group, but Randy and I are anxious to try it when the kids are older. For the little kids they had pig races, train rides, pony rides, mini-mazes, animals, play areas, and huge slides. Speaking of slides, Danny, Randy and I all took a try at these large slides. So much fun! They even had a mini-slide that Danny wanted to try. Guess what? After 20 or so times on the large slides, it took the tiny 3 foot slide to give him a swollen, cut lip. We ended our time at the farm by taking a hay ride to a field of pumpkins, where we picked out our pumpkin for this year. Danny thought it was a blast! Annelise was pretty much along for the ride. Here are some pictures of our day.
Oct 20, 2006
No Longer a Student
Something strange has happened to Randy in the last couple of weeks. I caught him reading a book without a pencil. I looked at the book and sure enough, there were no notes in the margins, no little asterisks, no exclamation points, no marks at all! Amazing!
Conversations With The Sun
Randy and Danny were talking yesterday evening about how fun the day had been. Danny said that it was a great day and he didn't want it to end. Randy explained that tomorrow would be a good day, too, but that it was night time and time to go to bed. Danny said, "I think I'll talk to the sun and tell him not to leave." But then after thinking for a minute, Danny added, "Oh, wait. The sun doesn't have any ears."
Crawling
Annelise has been doing her best attempt at a slow crawl since yesterday. She has all the motions correct, except she often lifts her back leg at the same time she is putting one arm forward. She then falls on her stomach, but she does manage to get where she wants to go. This is kind of what it looks like:
(That is our wedding album she would love to put in her mouth!)
(That is our wedding album she would love to put in her mouth!)
Reading
Danny absolutely loves to read and be read too. We go to at least one library story time each week and sometimes two. Each time we go, we trade our old stack of books for new ones. It has been great for me, too, to enjoy some books that I read as a kid and experience many, many new ones. One day this last week after lunch, Danny asked if he could read the "toes" book to Annelise. He loves to share the simple picture books with her and "read" them (he has them memorized). I think she enjoys it, too!
Oct 14, 2006
Rambling Thoughts
I find that whenever I am lacking adult company, my thoughts are pretty rambling and scattered. Randy is out of town, and I have been keeping the company of a 3 year-old and a baby. This post may include tidbits of my day that Randy would have heard about if he were around. In fact, Randy may read this before I get to talk to him (I miss you!).
It was beautiful here, today. Cool, crisp and breezy. I turned on the heater for the first time yesterday. Danny woke up this morning with cold feet and arms, so I pulled out the footsie pajamas for him tonight. In a couple of months we will be layering in these fleecy pajamas! I put the quilts on our beds last night, too! Here are the kids in their cuddly pj's. Annelise's were actually Danny's when he was a baby.
We had a good day of activity. We went to the aviation museum and the park. Danny was pretty good this afternoon (not too many battles with me!).
I actually cooked a real dinner tonight (something I don't usually do when Randy is gone). I made Last-minute Lasagna. This is one of my all-time favorite easy recipes. I have also seen it called 5-minute Lasagna and Baked Ravioli. This particular recipe is from Real Simple magazine, which has a great feature every month called Fake It, Don't Make It. I usually don't like to use prepared foods, but this one is delicious, especially for moms who can't take 1 hour to prepare a meal (I grate my own cheese to cut down cost). Another fake it recipe that tastes great is for Empanadas using prepared pizza dough (I like the kind from Trader Joe's). I usually use black bean refried beans (also from T.J.'s). This recipe is a bit more time-consuming because you have to roll the dough, so the kids have to be entertained elsewhere!
We had a fun evening of playing rental car (Danny's most recent favorite game involving his Hotwheels/Matchbox cars). Annelise looked on, trying to get her hands on the cars. She is getting on all fours rocking back and forth, now, so crawling won't be too far away.
All-in-all, it was a good day!
It was beautiful here, today. Cool, crisp and breezy. I turned on the heater for the first time yesterday. Danny woke up this morning with cold feet and arms, so I pulled out the footsie pajamas for him tonight. In a couple of months we will be layering in these fleecy pajamas! I put the quilts on our beds last night, too! Here are the kids in their cuddly pj's. Annelise's were actually Danny's when he was a baby.
We had a good day of activity. We went to the aviation museum and the park. Danny was pretty good this afternoon (not too many battles with me!).
I actually cooked a real dinner tonight (something I don't usually do when Randy is gone). I made Last-minute Lasagna. This is one of my all-time favorite easy recipes. I have also seen it called 5-minute Lasagna and Baked Ravioli. This particular recipe is from Real Simple magazine, which has a great feature every month called Fake It, Don't Make It. I usually don't like to use prepared foods, but this one is delicious, especially for moms who can't take 1 hour to prepare a meal (I grate my own cheese to cut down cost). Another fake it recipe that tastes great is for Empanadas using prepared pizza dough (I like the kind from Trader Joe's). I usually use black bean refried beans (also from T.J.'s). This recipe is a bit more time-consuming because you have to roll the dough, so the kids have to be entertained elsewhere!
We had a fun evening of playing rental car (Danny's most recent favorite game involving his Hotwheels/Matchbox cars). Annelise looked on, trying to get her hands on the cars. She is getting on all fours rocking back and forth, now, so crawling won't be too far away.
All-in-all, it was a good day!
Oct 13, 2006
Blue and Tasty
Today I took the kids to Target to get Annelise's 6 month portrait done (I'm almost a month behind, but she got her 3 month portrait taken at 4 1/2 months! Hee, hee!). Schlepping kids around can be a big pain in the butt, there is no way around that. Danny was super while Annelise was getting her pictures taken. He was great while we were shopping. I was trying to move us out of Target as quickly as possible, so he wasn't getting the attention from me that may have been necessary. As we are headed out to the car Danny says, "I ate that thing in the cart." "What thing?" I ask. "The thing that was right here," he says, pointing to one of the holes in the cart. Wondering what in the world he ate, I ask, "What did it look like?" "It was blue and tasty," Danny replied. Hmmm, I'm hoping that if it was tasty at least it was food, right? Let's not even think about the germs.
Oct 12, 2006
Something I Love
Aren't these the cutest slippers ever? They are actually moccasin socks from Hanna Andersson, and they are so perfect for Miss A!
Today's Statistics
Today both Annelise and Danny met with their new doctor in Maryland. Danny went for his 3 year check up (6 weeks late), and Annelise was there for her 6 month check up (about 3 weeks late). At least I got the kids in, I had called the practice in the first week of September!
Annelise is now 28 3/4 inches long and weighs 19 lbs. 13 oz. Danny is 40 1/2 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds. They both did great at the doctor (once Danny warmed up), and the whole visit took 2 hours. It took a long time for paperwork, meeting the doctor and learning about the practice, the doctor actually spent a good amount of time going over their health histories, and then they each had some fun pricking and poking at the end. Annelise got 4 shots, and Danny got pricked for some routine blood work. Randy was teaching, so I juggled both kids for those two hours in one very small room. (Imagine clothes on, clothes off, nursing while filling out paperwork, Danny bouncing off the walls, trying to help one kid and the other is hanging on you, etc.)
I was very happy with the doctor's attentiveness and how he related to Danny. We got a couple of recommendations for this doctor and were very happy to be able to be added to his list of patients.
Here are the growing kids!
Annelise with a nice drool beard!
A good shot of Annelise's two teeth.
Danny in his new outer space pajamas (so soft!).
Annelise is now 28 3/4 inches long and weighs 19 lbs. 13 oz. Danny is 40 1/2 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds. They both did great at the doctor (once Danny warmed up), and the whole visit took 2 hours. It took a long time for paperwork, meeting the doctor and learning about the practice, the doctor actually spent a good amount of time going over their health histories, and then they each had some fun pricking and poking at the end. Annelise got 4 shots, and Danny got pricked for some routine blood work. Randy was teaching, so I juggled both kids for those two hours in one very small room. (Imagine clothes on, clothes off, nursing while filling out paperwork, Danny bouncing off the walls, trying to help one kid and the other is hanging on you, etc.)
I was very happy with the doctor's attentiveness and how he related to Danny. We got a couple of recommendations for this doctor and were very happy to be able to be added to his list of patients.
Here are the growing kids!
Annelise with a nice drool beard!
A good shot of Annelise's two teeth.
Danny in his new outer space pajamas (so soft!).Beta, Beta, Beta
Well, I finally got the offer to transfer my blog to beta. I had read that it would be easier and have more features... we'll see! I don't know what all of it means, but here goes!
Oct 8, 2006
Annelise, Mommy and Daddy
It is nearly impossible to get a decent picture of Danny, posed, so we are enjoying how easy that is with Annelise. (That explains why there are many more pictures of Annelise on the blog. I am trying to get candids of Danny, but he is all too aware of the camera.) Here we are at the park, again!
At the Park
Yesterday and Friday it rained and rained and rained. When I got up on Saturday it was a lovely 48 degrees. Fall is definitely in the air! In the afternoon there were a couple of hours where it wasn't raining, so we bundled the kids (it had warmed up to about 58) and went to a park. Here are some pictures of our time at the park. Danny wanted to play hide and seek, and Annelise was happy to be held or swing (you can really see her two bottom teeth, now!).
Outside Fun
Early on this last week we had beautiful weather. It was in the 70s and clear. One morning I took the kids outside to play, while I tried to clean off the back patio. Randy had recently mowed the lawn, so the area was much easier to play on. Annelise hung out in her peapod and Danny explored. Unfortunately, Danny and I got bit by some lovely insects... Danny already had some bites, but after our play he had even more!
Annelise is as happy as ever!
Annelise is as happy as ever!
Danny is telling me about a leaf. You can see a few bug bites on his face, poor guy!
Oct 1, 2006
Siblings
This weekend I ended up going through some old pictures of Danny when he was six months. Thought you might want to see one alongside a current picture of Annelise.
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