Fall Weather

We've had some amazing weather the last 5 days. It has been mostly in the 70's with a chill in the air in the mornings and evenings. It will get back up into the high 80's /low 90's later this week, but I'm hoping there will be low humidity (that makes all the difference!). Yesterday afternoon we took a walk (Danny rode his bike) to the park by the lake. It was beautiful! Since Danny is now requesting me to make movies, here goes another!

Felt Friends

Today Danny and I had a little sewing time. We had so much fun, and he really only needed help threading the needle and explaining the stuffing process. This kit from Alex is lots of fun and was a great gift from M and H (thanks guys!). Read more about kids and sewing at my other blog, these pretty things.

sewing around the edges

still sewing (look at that concentration!)

designing the face

All done!

Oregon Outdoor Fun

Just a couple more summer picture posts left, and I'll be caught up! Here are some pictures of the kids playing outside on a hot day.

Craft Time

While Annelise was napping, Danny and I made some gunk for her to play with. I found the idea in Family Fun magazine (online). Annelise loves the stuff! It is a craft for toddlers, but Danny had just as much fun playing with the final product, especially when he brought out his tools!

All Dressed Up

Found this wonderful photo/video editing site called animoto. Check it out!

The Absent-Minded... well, you know

I remember watching that 1960's movie starring Fred MacMurray (from My Three Sons, and yes, we did watch a lot of Nick at Nite at my house!). The professor accidentally invents flubber, which ends up being quite the desirable substance! The Absent-Minded Professor was a great movie.

Little did I know that I would end up marrying an absent-minded professor. I don't think he'll invent anything in his science lab, but he can be the distracted (forgetful?) type. I alluded to a story about him, and the funny thing is, is that this is a repeat. He has actually done this twice, and fortunately caught himself twice. While heading out the door and emerging in the bright day outside, Randy looks down at his feet and notices that he has two different shoes on! This happened in Irvine 5+ years ago, but also on his first day of classes this year. Of course one reason that I love him is that he always keeps my life interesting!

School has been in session since the 29th, but because of the Labor Day holiday, Randy didn't get to teach all of his classes until yesterday, the 10th. He taught his first graduate level class on Monday afternoon, and it is so hard to believe that he could have been in that class just a little over one year ago.

As a teacher you develop a reputation. It is interesting seeing Randy manage his teaching persona. I developed mine when I first started teaching elementary school, but college is a totally different thing, especially since some of his students are older than him. Randy got to start this process when he was an adjunct writing teacher at Biola, some 10 years ago. He has honed his skills over the last 10 years of being an adjunct, a T.A., and now a professor. That is one of the best things about teaching: being able to learn and change as you go along.

We have had some good laughs the last year as Randy has heard little tidbits of what the students think of him. First of all, he has been known by the grad students as Randy-O. Because we have a ridiculously long last name, Randy has never been able to have an e-mail address with his full last name. In Irvine the e-mail was rontiver@.... In Maryland he has randy0@.... So the graduate students have nicknamed him Randy-O. Now that he has contact with more grad students, it will be interesting to see if that name sticks. Also last week, Randy was reading the campus newspaper (which gets published every school day) and found an opinion article about an unnamed professor. Turns out it was him. It is funny the reputation you earn, even before you meet your students. You definitely need to read this article! Fortunately the girl is making fun of herself, too, as she should!

Teaching is full of surprises!

First Day of School

Because we were out of town the last week, today was Danny's actual first day of school. I snapped some pictures before we left and couldn't help but notice how much he has grown and matured this last year.


Danny only goes to school for 2 and 1/2 hours, so it isn't a huge time away from me, but he still had a great time today. He has the same teacher and classroom as last year, although the kids in the class are different and he goes in the morning instead of the afternoon. There were no tears, no sadness, and no time spent at the Goodbye Window. Maybe this summer was just the break he needed to realize how fun pre-school is! (His teacher said he is all grown up... sniff, sniff.)

Danny celebrated his first day of school with a trip to the doctor! It was just his four-year-old check up, which is very comprehensive. He had quite the chat with the doctor, along with 3 shots, a TB test, blood draw, and both a hearing and vision test! He was a trooper. No tears at all! He weighs 43.5 pounds and is 42 3/4 inches tall. For those that don't see him much, he is very tall, but quite slim. He is wearing size 5 clothes mostly, although sometimes the shirts are too short. He is a big boy!

I Sure Do Love Weddings!

"I sure do love weddings," was what Danny said while he was eating food at his uncle's wedding!

Our main purpose for going to the Bay Area was to participate in Randy's brother's wedding. The traveling aspect of the trip was great. We got to take a direct flight (a rarity for us), and the kids did really well. The week was filled up with the many details of putting together a wedding and some pretty fun partying.

The event was absolutely beautiful. It was in my brother-in-law's backyard and was a small family (and close friends) affair. Randy was best man and Danny was the ring bearer. We all had so much fun visiting family, including some people we hadn't seen for a while. It was great!

Here are some pictures of the kids in their finest duds! (The rocky locale is at the gardens where the pictures were taken. I was keeping my fingers crossed hoping that Danny wouldn't end up in the water!) A little tip: If you want to see any of these pictures larger, just double click over the picture!

Birthday... Part 3?

While we were in California, Randy's family had a celebration for Danny's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. Danny had only been to that crazy place one time (his 2nd birthday) for lunch with a friend from Irvine. He really "got it" this time. It was a lot of fun because Danny and his cousin A got to run around together. She is so great to him, and Danny absolutely adores her! The adults (plus Annelise) sat in the room with all the singing animals. Of course Annelise loved that! It was a memorable evening for Danny and enjoyable for the rest of us. (And can you say "ski ball"? I love that game!)

What does a doggy say?

Annelise's language skills are growing by the day. Here is a quick list of some words or phrases that she uses regularly.

down
up
brother (brudda)
Danny
Daddy
Mommy (usually used for both of us)
Papa (got used to that one with my dad in Oregon)
Meema (also used to that one in Oregon)
hi
doggy
bye
balloon
dolly
baby (in reference to herself, usually when she wants something)
ball
Dora (totally pathetic, but she has a name for Dora... do-uh)
milk
thank you
I love you (a mimic of what we say, but oh, so cute!)

That is all I can think of, but I'm pretty sure there are more. The funniest thing though, has been our attempt at teaching her animal sounds. About 4 or 5 weeks ago, while we were in Oregon, we asked her what does a doggy say? And she said, "Rrrrrrr" (kind of a loud lion roar). And then we would ask what does a kitty say? And she would say, "rrrrr" (a quiet roar). We thought it was cute, so we didn't correct her... shame, shame, but parents do this. I get home and think that I have got to get this on video, but she has been relatively uncooperative. Here are a couple of attempts that can be quite amusing. The second clip is the best we got (but look at how she wiggles).

Accessorizing

Well as surprising as it can be to me, we do have a girl who likes to try on everything! She is constantly getting into my jewelry, but she also likes anything of hers or her brothers that we'll let her wear. She is a big fan of sunglasses, although I don't have any pictures of that. Here goes with some pictures from the last two months of her hats and such.

Hard hat at children's museum

Hat on stairs (notice we are inside)

Goggles on eyes

Goggles on forehead

Furry winter coat (with great hood)

Hat + Elmo helmet makes for stylish protection

Swim Lessons

While in Oregon, both Danny and Annelise got to take swimming lessons. The classes met 4 times a week for two weeks. Danny was in his first class where Randy or I weren't in the water with him. Annelise took her first class, ever. Danny got very comfortable going under water (his whole head!), kicking and floating. Over the 8 lessons, Annelise began kicking, blowing bubbles and extending her body in the water (instead of clinging to me). We had a great time during these lessons, and would often play in the pool before or after. Here are a few of the best pictures.

Danny and his swimming teacher.

Annelise spreading out.

Brother/sister hugs in the baby pool.

Four

Danny turned four yesterday! We had a totally relaxing day with some gifts from us and my parents. We went to the Labor Day festival and out to dinner. Danny is enjoying the new toys he got, especially the Lincoln Logs and the Tinkertoys... that boy loves to build. As you can see from some of the pictures, his parents are having fun, too! Did you know that Lincoln Logs were created by Frank Lloyd Wright's son? An interesting story you should read here. Of course there was some underwear to open, and Annelise loves to play with Danny's underwear! Since we are headed to California tomorrow, it looks like the birthday celebration will continue a little bit longer!

Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Danny's birthday party, although his actual birthday was on Sunday (which has confused him endlessly).

Danny invited 4 friends over for a pancake breakfast, a few games, playtime and cupcakes. It was nice and low-key, and Randy and I had a great time visiting with the parents. This was our first party at our new place, and we don't have much on the walls yet, but the place is clean and organized. The kids had a blast, and the weather was nice enough to play outside for a while with sidewalk chalk and bubbles.

Happy Labor Day!

This morning was great fun in our small little town (just minutes from DC). We had a truly small town Labor Day parade as the finale to a weekend festival. The four of us even got to march with Danny's preschool for a short part of the parade. The 2-5 year-olds marched a couple of blocks waving and playing instruments. The parade included local schools and clubs like the Cirque du City jump-roping acrobats, boy and girl scouts, and musicians like the bagpipers (oh, I love bagpipes). There were also the local fire and police vehicles, including the K-9 dogs. Even our senator Ben Cardin was in the parade (Randy was thrilled because he got to talk to him for a few minutes) along with many other local and state politicians.



As Randy and I walked home from our little parade, we couldn't help but comment that this parade is an example of why we moved to this town.