Oh-Bla-Di

“An old military tradition is that true friends who have not seen each other for long periods of time never question their friendship. These friends resume at the same time they left off regardless of distance and time between them. We call these friends ‘Family’.”

Lots to say, no photos sorted, so that means it’s time for a Ten on Tuesday!  Here’s what’s going on around these parts…

1.  Last week, Ava’s preschool class talked about what they were going to be when they grow up.  Monday through Wednesday morning, she was going to be a princess.  But, on Wednesday afternoon she decided she was going to be a mommy instead.  When I asked her if she was going to be a mommy who stayed home with her babies or a mommy who went to work, she told me she was going to “go to work and chew bubblegum.”  She’s seen the bubblegum dispenser I keep on my desk and has decided that that’s what I do when I come to work.    Whoozers also chose her outfit to dress up like a mommy for school on Thursday…khaki shorts, cute blouse, and a headband.

2.  This week at school, Ava’s class is learning about volcanoes.  The lesson yesterday was so terrifying to her that she cried all the way through it and had to be reassured repeatedly that there aren’t any volcanoes anywhere near Las Vegas.  Awesome.

3.  Noah continues to grow like a weed and has progressed from cruising to walking with his walker.  His new favorite game is to walk back and forth on the tile from one end of the house to the other.  We’re really wishing we’d bought a more maneuverable baby walker.  Also, he’s stood on his own for a few seconds a couple of times.  No consistency there yet, but it’s only a matter of a couple of weeks before this little dude is off to the races.

4.  Doozers is really an independent kid.  Must be the second baby thing, but he’s pretty much content to be plunked down in the middle of the playroom with some toys and have at it.  That independent streak leads to frustration, though, when there’s something he can’t do.  And that frustration leads him to biting the offending toy.  We’re thinking we’re going to need to take proactive steps to keep that from developing into a habit.  Kiddos who hit can stay in school, but kiddos who bite get booted to the curb.

5.  For all the toy biting, I can’t for the life of me get Noah to eat real table food.  He’s all about the purees, oatmeal and cheerios.  He’ll eat chunky food and will feed himself, but won’t feed himself soft-cooked veggies or breads.  This is such a new thing for me…Ava flat out refused purees starting at 10 months.  I don’t know how to teach someone to like real food.

6.  I’ve got a real interest in teaching Noah to eat real food because I don’t really want to spend all the time making purees anymore.  Our schedule is hopping around here and Matt’s been at work a lot lately.  I’m thinking that any job that he could work fifty hours a week and have no night and weekend time would be an awesome step up.

7.  Speaking of a hopping schedule, we got to hang out with some great TPS friends last Thursday night and will get to go to a mini-TPS reunion this weekend at Edwards.  The Traynors are back on the left coast and we’re all getting together to celebrate their arrival as well as Sparky’s return from a desert on the other side of the world.  We’re so excited to go see these people this weekend!

8.  Just to keep things interesting (and not get too settled in at home), we took off for Mt. Charleston right after the Traynors left on Friday morning.  We spend Friday night camping on the mountain and got home mid-afternoon on Saturday.  We were wiped out when we got home and spent the rest of Saturday recuperating.  We all had a good time, though, so think we’ll go again soon.  We’re slowly working up to longer camping trips…pretty soon we’ll leave for days at a time!

9.  Since Sunday was our only day at home this weekend, we used it to get a bunch of stuff done.  Of course, nothing we did was on any of our mile-long lists of “things to get done” but, instead, we engaged in some extreme puttering.  You know, the kind where you work on tons of stuff and it’s all physical, sweaty work?  Libby got a bath, I cleaned out and reorganized the closet under the stairs (here’s where I really wish I’d taken before & after shots), Matt cleaned up and repacked the camping gear and cleaned up the garage, and the kids did their best to stay out of the way.

10.  And, now, that we’re all settled, and in between trips and visits, I’ve got to do some writing.  Dr. Ackerman, my fave professor from my Masters program, has asked me to write a book chapter with him.  It’s due on August 15 and I’ve not yet started.  Ah, Procrastination…been a long time since I’ve seen you.  Thanks for the clean closets, though.

Summer in Vegas is HOT!  And HOT means lots of pool time.  Since we keep our pool fairly warm (to ward off the chills when the dry air meets skin while above water), it’s perfect for baby’s first swim.  Lucky for us, Noah (the chillest baby ever) loves the pool and to ride around in his ladybug floatie.

Doozers is perfectly content to kick his little legs and chew on diving rings for the hour or two we all float along with him.  Throw in a cup of water and a binky and he’d probably stay there all day.  The first few times we pulled on the swim diaper and suit, he kicked his legs like crazy to fight it off; now, though, I think he knows that swimsuits mean a pretty good time and he’s quite cooperative!

Of course, Noah’s had a great example set for him by his part-fish big sister.  Ava’s down to just water wings and has become a pro at swimming with her face in the water and jumping from the edges.

Seriously, with all that gear, how could she not be a great swimmer?    She wears goggles sometimes now and, although we started the summer with them, she no longer needs her ear plugs.  Hooray for one less thing to armor up with as we head out the door!

Bottom line, in HOT Vegas, the pool in your own backyard is the the place to be!

It’s been nearly a month since we celebrated our daddy all Hallmark-like around here, but we couldn’t let a whole year go by without saying all the reasons we love him!

We love Daddy because…

he shares his toys with us (even the expensive, fancy ones) and…

he lets us explore exciting new places and…

he teaches us important life skills and…

he lets us open his presents and…

he always has room in his arms or time on his hands for a snuggle.

We love you, Daddy!

*Finally getting around to catching up on our Kansas trip at the end of May.  I think I could write a whole blog on the study of how time flies!*

Just one month after our roadtrip to Texas, we climbed back into the Blue Blur and set off for the Land of Oz.  We chose to  follow I-70 this time since the mountains would be passable this time of year.  It was a very pretty drive and largely uneventful since both kiddos were relatively healthy this round.  We rolled in to my folks’ house by noon on Saturday and got to enjoy a whole afternoon of outside relaxation before we ever even ate a meal!

Ava settled right into outdoor roaming and busting out every toy Granddad had set up for her.  Wes’s daughter, Denim, was home for the weekend, so we got to meet her for the first time.  Noah and Denim are only about eight weeks apart in age, so they fell right to the baby-sized work of  stealing each other’s binkies and staring at one another.

Sunday morning we got all gussied up and took some family photos…

And then Monday, we hit the road to go visit the farm for Memorial Day.  We had a great picnic, in spite of the howling Kansas wind and the nearly-unbearable heat.  We had a lovely time seeing our cousins (Ava talked about nothing else for the week before we left) of both the original and new generations.

After all the excitement of driving halfway across the country and then the trip to the farm, we were pretty content to spend the rest of the week just putzing around with Grammie and Granddad at their house.  We played “Ariel” over and over again, fed the birds, climbed the climbing wall, rode the swing, and had a picnic lunch at the duck park.

Grammie & Granddad hanging out with “Ariel” on the porch swing.

Granddad & Ladybug Girl doing morning “chores.”

Noah just chilling in a chair perfectly sized for him.

Relaxing on the patio.

Going for a bike ride.  Huge advantage to taking the van…lots of cargo room!

We didn’t travel far from the folks’ home this time, so didn’t gather much in the way of souvenirs.  But, Matt managed to find something to bring home when we stopped the gas station in Lincoln to use the restroom on the way to the farm.

And here’s Ava modeling the front of that glorious hat for us.

That one’s a classic, I’d say.

Of course, a roadtrip this year wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to see a medical professional for Noah’s ears.  He spiked a fever Tuesday afternoon and we got to experience yet another parenting first…a trip to the ER!  McPherson doesn’t have an urgent care facility, so the ER was our only choice for instant care.  I’ve heard horror stories of ER visits from other mommies, so was delighted to find the ER nearly deserted at 5:30pm and the staff to be agreeable and helpful.

Just because we stuck close to home didn’t mean that we stopped having adventures, though.  In addition to the trip to the ER, we had some after hours fun as well.  Matt & I got to go on a double date with Aubrey and Lance one night and then another we had a patio campfire with Grammie & Granddad.  Ava got to make and eat her first s’more and then, after Ava’s bedtime, we adults got to have our own fun.  Who says booze and fire don’t mix?  Even Grammie thinks it’s fun to spit whiskey on a fire!

All in all, this trip was a “blazing” good time.  Thanks for the fun, Grammie & Granddad!  See you again soon!