Evening Stroll

Have I mentioned how great the weather was this past weekend?  I have to remind myself since it's been so crummy ever since.

After Saturday's walk to the park and the gorgeous weather we decided to let Drew play outside as much as possible.  Thinking some fresh air would do his illness some good.  So on Sunday night when Drew wanted to take the wagon for a walk, both Dave and I decided to put our much needed glass of wine down and take the kid for a spin.

Drew of course had to bring his pal "Mader" along for a ride (his favorite character right now from "Cars"). 

So being the great parents we are, we let Drew direct where this walk around the neighborhood would take us.  Thankfully he was pointing with is pointer finger - and not flipping our neighbors off....

It really was a great evening.  To bad we came back only to find his fever had spiked again.  Blah.

Spring Fever - Afternoon at the Park

So we're one of "those" parents who send our kid to the playground when he's not feeling 100%.  Who can blame Drew for wanting to be outside - he's been acting normal despite the fever - and the weather was absolutely spectacular this weekend.

So when he asked to play outside with Dave on Saturday, and I needed to get some cleaning done a trip to the park sounded perfect to everyone.  Especially since there was a Little League game going on, and Drew loves to watch them.  Saturday was no exception.

After the game ended Drew hit up the playground.

He even climbed up the rock climber...

And when he was feeling really brave he went down the big scary tunnel slide on the big kid area of the playground...

Of course this was the one and only time that this happened.  I guess it went a little too fast for him, and he was too nervous to try again.

Needless to say the one hour that they were at the park, was really productive for everyone.  I managed to get a good chunk of housecleaning done and Drew exerted enough energy.  Unfortunately the fever did come back after their trip.  We were hoping it was just a lot of sun.. no such luck.

On the flip side - today Drew is back at Day Care and was fine for most of yesterday.  Even refused to nap - oh lucky me.

Health Update

So we went to the doctor with Drew this morning after he had a fever hanging around 102 since Saturday morning with a fun bout of diarrhea . 

Turns out they think it's just a virus (aka no meds), and they think we just need to ride it out.   Strep test came back negative, but the doctor said there was definitely something going on back there, so he understood our concern. The doctor was optimistic that he was on the mend, and was relieved to see the illness is not taking away his energy.  He was literally bouncing around the table when the doctor was with him.

In other news we got his new weight... 25 lbs 9 oz.

Flipping You the "Bird"

I must apologize ahead of time if you think my son is flipping you the bird.  Within the past week or two, he's become set on pointing to things with his middle finger.  The other day he was intent on pointing to the "purple flowers" that are blooming in our backyard, and refused to use his pointer finger.

I'm not sure really where this comes from, as I don't flip Dave off regularly - or at least within eyesight of Drew.

Yet another phase I hope doesn't last long or at least follow us to church or other inappropriate public place.

Scrapbooking Saturday - Tahoe

This page was the favorite one I put together last month when my Mom and I got together.

 

When I got to my Mom's house that day she was showing me a few scrapbooking supplies she found at my Grandma's house while she was moving.  One such thing was some stencils which I used for the photos and the two layers of matting.

I re-purposed the cover from a pad of paper for the white background, then used the border from this stencil for the blue background paper.  Once I had the pictures and their mats figured out it was a matter of finding the right way to position everything on the paper.  I used a snow border embellishment to go through the "off-center" of the page.  Then scattered a few snowflake embellishments throughout the page.

The journal details our trip, I've decided this page will be for my book, and I have yet to make Drew's scrapbook page.  This was a putzy one to put together (those mats were a pain) but very well worth it.

Sucker Punch

Drew is rather aggressive when he's not getting his way.  For several months now he's thrown punches in the direction of the kids at day care.  Every time he does, he's banished to the upstairs bedrooms into a Pack 'n Play.  The punishment used to really bother Drew, but in recent days he now just waits for Ms. Stephanie to get him out, and he goes back to his aggressive tendencies.

I'm not sure what more to do with him.  He received numerous Time Outs when we were in Kansas City for doing the same thing.  I know a lot of that was that he was overtired and on stimulation overload - but that still doesn't excuse the behavior that deserved punishment.

So last night he took his aggression out through proper channels.

Yes my little "Rocky" is now throwing the punches (and kicks) toward his Spiderman Punching bag.  This isn't a new thing, as he's had this up and at his disposal since around his second birthday.  It was just rather timely that he brought it out to the front room to begin beating up Spidey.

What more can you do to punish the hitting?  I'm at my wits end with it.

Beginning to Read

It's no secret, Drew loves his flashcards.  In fact we were busy impressing the man who sat next to us on the airplane on the way out to Kansas City Drew's ability to name all the MLB Teams.

Yesterday Ms. Stephanie called me at work to have Drew read some words to me.  Of course I was one proud Mama to hear that.

She's using some "Sight Word" flashcards that were for her 4-year old. 

Drew's been watching some Preschool videos with her boys and apparently he's picking a few things up. Here's a list of some of the words he was reading on his own (list Ms. Stephanie made for us):

• Up
• White
• Word
• are
• one
• no
• a
• my
• myes
• box
• red
• yellow
• at
• it
• in
• I
• go
• brown
• blue
• big
• be

She made a note that he gets confused with similar looking words like "no" and "on" or "pig" and "big". 

To test this out, I pulled out some sight words we have, and then wrote a few things on his dry erase easel - he definitely recognizes when we write all the colors including "gold" and "silver".  We're quite proud of our little guy.

Spring Has Sprung

While Drew and I were traveling, we greeted the first day of Spring with a Kansas City snow storm.

Then we arrived home to happily greet the great sunny, warm California weather and signs that Spring really has arrived.  My Irises which I planted last fall have bloomed.

These are the irises my mom gave to me, and I left sit in our garage for several months.  And Dave figured they were dead and wouldn't bloom.  My Mom said they were resilient and I guess she was right.  Look how pretty.

Those weren't the only flowers I was greeted with when Drew and I returned.

What a sweet guy.  I think he missed us!

KC Craziness

What a vacation!  I mean it wasn't exactly a lounge around, sit in your bikini while someone serves you pina coladas, kind of vacation.  Rather it was a 18 people - 8 Moms, and 10- 2 1/2 year olds hanging around and wreaking havoc, kind of a vacation.  Needless to say I need a vacation from my vacation.!

The cliff notes: We arrived it was mid 60's and sunny.  When we left there was about 6-8" of snow on the ground and I had my first experience of driving in a snow storm.  Ever. Kids cried. Kids played.  Kids had time outs. Moms talked.  Moms drank (clearly not enough).  And we all got to meet each other - for the first time (well for most everyone anyway).

The long story:

I've mentioned these ladies a few times - and it's really hard to convey to everyone just how close we are.  I mean where else can to you talk about your kid non-stop and not have anyone look at you funny, but on the internet.  Yes this group of ladies that I have the privilege of knowing and calling my friends, have been chatting online since early 2007 when we all found out we were expecting a baby - or two or three.

In my business and pleasure travels I've had the chance to meet most everyone in the group (which is about 12 ladies who still actively chat).  This time we had 8 mamas - and 10 kids (yes one of the mama's has triplets).  For more than a year we've talked about getting together at a convenient location for everyone... we were supposed to meet initially in Chicago last summer, but that never panned out.

Then suddenly Kansas City became a reality. It was centrally located, two Mamas already live there, and it's fairly easy for everyone to get to.  Plus in the Spring weather should be decent. So we picked this past weekend and it all fell into place.  Well that was a joke!

Ready for all the pictures?!

First up, the kids eating Pizza on the day we arrived

The next day we headed to Crown Centre for a little entertainment and food. 

The photo above is courtesy Helen!

Helen had the only group shot - at lunch at the Crayola Cafe.  I mean it's hard enough to seat a table of 18 let alone get everyone in the photo.

Then we brought the kids into the store and they all had fun chasing the moving shapes that lit up the floor.

Some cute shots of Ryan - the little boy we met when he was about 5 months old.

Suddenly Friday Night/Saturday Morning a bunch of white stuff fell from the sky

We had to then evacuate our beautiful Lake House dwelling for a hotel. The roads were a bit narrow, hilly and curvy at the Lake House and we weren't sure about whether they'd be plowed or if we would be stranded.

On Sunday while many were leaving, whether driving or flying, a few of us made it back to Helen's house for a little play time and pizza party.  A little break before heading back to the Lake House for the last round of laundry.

We had our last chance at a group shot of the kids... missing are 3 who were already on the road including the only girl of the bunch.

After we left the Lake House again, the Mama from LA and her son rode to the airport with us.  And when we dropped off the Rental Car, the Hertz man told us he was getting someone to drive us to the airport.  That way we didn't have to deal with the shuttle.  Can I tell you how much a lifesaver that was! 

Drew did awesome on the flight there and back!  In fact he didn't have any accidents - only one that mommy created when she didn't pull his pants down far enough.  So that's great!  He was a great traveler. And the best part was that he carried his own suitcase (roller backpack).  I think that was a big trip saver and made him feel important.

 It was an amazing trip, and so great for all of us to see/meet each other and for our kids to get to play.  Drew is still talking about all of his friends.  Hopefully next trip we'll get all the Mamas together - and without kids!

Home Again, Home Again...

This mama didn't have the energy to download the pictures, write something witty, or even unpack after the busy weekend Drew and I had in Kansas City.  Did I mention there were 10 kids, and 8 Moms?

So I'll get my act together today and give you the update for the morning.

Let's just say Drew is so glad to see his Daddy today!!  The two of them are currently running through the house with their hotwheels.  Toys Drew no longer has to share with anyone. Sharing - that was a tough one for him this weekend.  A lot of time outs for hitting.

Now it's just back to reality.

Scrapbook Saturday - Turning 2 Times 2

Two Birthday Parties were thrown for our 2-year-old this year, and that inspired the title for this spread.

The left side is from the party here at home, on his birthday, and the right side is from his LA party.  I wanted to get as many photos onto this spread as possible trying to keep the quantity of photos even.  So I just trimmed 3 photos from each party and put them down the center of the page - they're 4x4 squares.

The words "Turning" and "Times" I used the Cricut to cut out the squares and their shadow.  then I stamped on the letters.  The background paper was a redish color, and then I had a yellow/plaid colored paper that I used for the outsides.  It was hard for me to get the color I wanted since the parties had different themes - Wiggles for NorCal and Cars for SoCal.

The "2's" were quite the pain.  I was able to use the Cricut for the "2" but the shadow I had to free-hand.  Apparently the Cricut  didn't like the shadow size for the numbers.  It just kept beeping at me.  Oh well.  It worked out.

Finally I had a few embellishments from a kit I used when Drew was born that had birthday presents, and then used a few eyelets for pg 2.  

Bathing Suit Season

Bathing suit season is nearly upon us, and while we were at the St. Patrick's Day Festival last weekend we got a free trial class for the swimming lessons at a local Pool.

We were there early on Monday (had a 5:30pm slot) so that Drew could check it out and not be so afraid.  Well it turns out there was an opening in the 5pm class and we were able to hurry up and change to get in.

Here's our little fish before he got in the water...

As you can see, he's quite excited.  Daddy was on camera patrol and Mommy was in bathroom with a slight wardrobe malfunction - I apparently put my bottoms on inside out.

Then it was time to join the class - 5 students (2 regulars and 3 first timers).  This class was geared for kids ages 6months to 3 years and is to get kids used to the water.  We sang songs, went under water, learned to float on our backs, how to climb in/out of the pool and scale the wall. 

Drew did fantastic with everything.  He was a little nervous at first - especially when he swallowed some pool water when I put him under the water a bit (not fully submerged).

We even had a successful trip to the potty - no going in the swim diaper!

After it was over, Drew wanted to go back in.  Needless to say we'll be signing up for swim lessons - now to pick which location.  This one, or one closer to our house. Hmm......

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Drew and I are off on a Mommy-and-Son-Adventure today.  We're catching a flight to Kansas City to meet up with a group of mommies I became friends with online when I was pregnant with Drew.

I mention these awesome group of ladies when I visit them (two trips to Virginia, two trips to Boston, and one to Kansas City), but I "talk" to them daily - or at least pretty darn close to.  

Well this time it's going to be a HUGE deal. Eight mommies.  Ten kids. One house.  Well technically only 6 mommies and 6 kids are staying at the house - the others live there. (There are 4 mommies and 4 kids that aren't going).

We've all become pretty close, and now we get to meet face-to-face, the first time for most of the group. I have met all but one mommy and child who are going on this trip during my business and pleasure travels.  So... um... yeah... I get around.

Expect plenty of blog pictures and updates next week! I'm sure we'll have some wild tales to tell.  Some of them likely to be of the "What Happens in KC stays in KC" persuasion.

Daddy on the other hand is enjoying a peaceful house for the long weekend.

Our Little Drummer Boy

Yes another post from the Parade - I forgot about putting this one in the other posts.  Oops.

Drew is our own little Drummer boy:



And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In the News...

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Dave was quite the celebrity at the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Well here's the proof we saw in the TriValley Herald on Sunday, March 14.

Yes that would be my husband, son, Mason and Troy behind them.  Oh and Mr. Mike Wazowski (otherwise known as Brian) bending down behind them.

We watched the news all night on Saturday and my clown husband never made the news.  In fact they showed a view just beyond us!  (Were the glasses a bit much for family news?)

Thanks to Brian for letting us know about the TriValley Herald.  Since we get the Times - and while the papers are affiliated - we didn't see the same thing.

So this is the first time Drew's made it in the news!  Dave has been around that block a few times...

St. Paddy's Day Comes Early

Warning - be prepared for a very photo heavy post!
 
What a perfect weekend for an early St. Patrick's Day celebration - the sun was shining, the temperature was just right - and the kids were ready to rock and roll!

On Saturday we ventured out for the second year to the Dublin St. Paddy's Day parade with Ms. Stephanie, Brian, Mason and Troy.  It was so much better this year - not only because it there were more entries, but because we weren't freezing our butts off!

Since this is going to be pretty photo heavy, I'll spare you from all the reading....

Drew's favorite commercial at the moment - Geiko, the Gecko gives Drew a High Five.

Which one is supposed to be the clown?

And Dave was approached by a parade member for a hug.  Then they interviewed him for their YouTube campaign.

Well that wasn't the only media attention.  Dave's attire stood out to the media as well.  Both from the local CBS affiliate and the local paper.  Here I'm catching them on camera.

After the parade was over we headed down the street to the St. Patrick's Day festival.  We instantly headed over to the rides where Drew was excited to join Mason and Troy in the cars.

But once the ride started, and the car went up and down rather quickly he wasn't so sure anymore.

After trying to scope out a few more not-so-scary rides, Drew finally settled on the teacups with Daddy.  Although once he got on he was no longer so excited.

We made our exit in the early afternoon in hopes of Drew getting a nap in - no luck there.  The good news is that Daylight Savings was starting, so the extra hour of sleep hopefully means bedtime will go rather easily.

One final parting shot for you - what's St. Patrick's Day without a leprechaun?