You get another post because I'm not sleepy yet.

After seeing a commercial for Chuck E. Cheese Lily requested to go there. It was approximately 1 year later and thanks to our friends in Chicago for granting Lily her wish.












This occurs daily (cheesy smile and all)












Her hair was perfectly intertwined together into beautiful ringlets of curls all by themselves. She wasn't wearing a shirt so it was difficult to produce a full picture without providing her evidence in her teen years to hate me.

















We definitely need a supply of boy dress up clothes. He opted against his normal dress up as Ariel for the bumble bee on a toasty July day. He mastered stinging every member of his family with a cute buzz while softly touching us with his pointer finger.


















What kid doesn't enjoy putting on their parents' sunglasses?

Crazy summers=absent blogger

Dear devoted knucklesandwich readers (aka my mom, grandma and in-laws),
I'm going to ignore the fact I haven't posted in over a month and I hope you can too. :)

In current news:

Harrison had his first ER visit. Right after we arrived in Sioux City, he fell off a concrete step and landed right smack on his head. Randy was standing close enough to hear the thud which makes him cringe to recall. Harrison cried for a while and his 2 bumps kept getting bigger and bigger so we took him into the ER. The doctor was happy he didn't lose consciousness (um...me too)so didn't want to do any tests. Besides the huge owie on his head he was just fine.


















Lily has been doing really well with her reward charts. We've gone through about 7 weeks of charts and still going strong. I guess the excitement of blindly digging into a bag of cheap toys is enough to keep up the good behavior and I'm not complaining! It took a few weeks to fill in all of her stars (that darn listening star was really hard to get 7 days straight) but her reward for a full chart was a date with mom and dad. Harrison stayed with a babysitter while Lily joined Randy and I for dinner. Since she ate earlier her "dinner" was an ice cream sundae. Following dinner she got to pick out a new toy which of course was a princess doll.













Our summer has been filled with trips to visit family in J-town and Sioux City, a trip to Chicago to visit friends over July 4th, 2 work trips for myself (CA and CO), and we leave for San Diego in 2 days for our family vacation. I'm extremely excited because I know Harrison will love the airplane (hopefully everyone else will love him too), Lily will love picking sea shells on the beach and Randy and I will love the memories we'll always have of our first summer family vacation. San Diego and Disneyland here we come!

Like Father, Like Daughter

Lily was tested for environmental allergies today. The results just prove another way Lily takes after her father. She is allergic to tree pollen (Chinese elm, maple-box elder, cedar, cottonwood [big time], birch, ash, and oak), grass, weeds (ww.hemp, lamb's quarters) and had a borderline reaction to dogs and cats.

The Dr. didn't think we had to get rid of the dogs (cats at daycare) just yet since Lily is only reacting to seasonal allergies, starting March until now.

She is starting Zyrtec so hopefully it works!

Cool new park

We're always on a mission to find a great park. I keep in mind the height at the top, the open areas where little ones can fall through, and the amount of things to keep the kids entertained. They both like slides, the store structure thing where they deliver food (i.e. bark from the ground) in exchange for money (i.e. bark from the ground), the steering wheel, etc. We spotted a park that looked really cool and after testing it out it proved its worth. In addition to 3 slides, the store, and relatively few open areas on top, it had a nice climbing wall and "balance beam." With having so much to offer the entire playground was pretty small which means kids are in my view the whole time. We'll be back to this park a lot.

Of course I had to try out the slide for myself. Kids are not the only ones who get to have fun.

Grandparents

Happy Belated Birthday to my mom. I know she had one of the best birthdays ever because all of her kids and grandkids were there to celebrate with her. Even if the grandkids attempted to remove any evidence of icing from the cake.














Also wanted to say good luck to Roger and Kim who are currently hiking inside the Grand Canyon. We can't wait to hear from you. I guess having kids DOES make you worry more because I'm a bit worried about the heat, their water supply, their heavy packs, etc. I will be very happy to hear from them in a few days!

The coolest thing in the world

I love Barbies. My best friend, Melissa, and I played Barbies almost daily for 6+ years. She always called first pick and got the best Barbie but I'm over it, I really am. We even secretly played one time after we were clearly out of the appropriate age for playing Barbies.

I was very excited when Lily first saw my old Barbies and her eyes got big and mouth dropped open. A good sign! Much to Randy's dismay (but to my mom's relief) a large plastic bin accompanied us home. Lily and I went through all my old Barbie dolls, clothes and accessories. It was so much fun and brought back memories of playing Barbies with Melissa. It was fun dressing up the dolls and the pretty dresses and combing their hair. Lily combined her love of Sleeping Beauty into the mix so my Barbie was the evil fairy that wasn't invited to the party. :)

Lily and Harrison

When Harrison isn't torturing his sister by messing with her reward chart (this morning)...

When Lily isn't annoying Harrison by standing thisclose when he clearly needs his personal space...

When Harrison doesn't grab Lily's blanket and bolt...

When Lily doesn't make that horrible grunting sound that clearly annoys Harrison...

When Harrison isn't pushing Lily for NO reason...

When Lily isn't horrified about the baby slobber on her cup...

They are buds. They laugh and chase each other around the circle in our house. Lily will tell Harrison to run after her and he will. Harrison will make a monster noise "raaahh" and Lily will scream in delight and run faster. Harrison, with a lot of cheering on, will 99% of the time, share with Lily. Lily will color pictures for Harrison, one of which was taped to his wall next to his crib. He will say "Lily" while pointing to it, which translates to my sister loves me and colored me a car picture which she knew I'd love.

Gymnastics

Can you tell I decided to upload my videos all at once today?

When Lily was around 20 months old we joined a parent/toddler gymnastics class at a rec center in CO. We all had fun in the class but now Lily is ready for more "serious" gymnastics, which means she is old enough to do it alone, without mom and dad. She is doing great and listens to her teacher really well. She loves the stamps she gets on her hands and feet after class and after class she asks when she can go back.

Harrison is also doing gymnastics in the parent/toddler group. Randy and I take turns and both of us have been quite impressed with him! He listens pretty well and will stretch (which is so very cute to see him touch his toes and raise his arms in the air) and he's pretty darn good on the obstacle course. He likes to roll down the mats and hang from the bars. It's a very good outlet to use up some of his energy. Fortunately, his class is at the same time as Lily's so that makes gymnastics even better.

Life with a boy

There isn't a whole lot to add that isn't communicated in the video below. But I will say that raising a boy is MUCH different from raising a girl. Not just any girl, but Lily, who is one of the girliest girls around. Yesterday she commented "I don't like trains or fire trucks, I like princesses and ponies." Harrison, on the other hand, loves trains and fire trucks so much that we drive by both modes of transportation daily after pick up from daycare. Not only does he love "boy things" per Lily but he is WILD. Not wild in an out-of-control way (although that is debatable at times) but this kid has no fear. He falls, hits his head and keeps going. Occasionally he'll come to me for comfort but it's short lived before he doing the exact same thing that previously caused 10 seconds of tears. He's our crazy little man.

Sprinkler Time

Since I grew up in the Midwest I know what to expect from the summer. However, the weather for May and June threw me for a loop. It's been too cool to get out the sprinklers until last week. The heat...and humitidy have arrived. The kids are loving the sprinklers and I love how all the running wears them out. The last picture is pretty funny. Harrison learned how to aim the sprayer from Lily. Little did she know she would become the target.

Random Photos

Pretty pictures from our yard

From the mouth of Harrison

Harrison has gotten used to my interview questions and will blink, meow, roar, go to sleep, cry, laugh, wink (or try to), sniff, etc. on command. I'm glad his meow has been captured because it makes me laugh every time.

Randy and Lily's wild ride

Last weekend we went to Lily and Harrison's first carnival. Harrison wasn't in the mood for much besides cotton candy and running wild. Lily, on the other hand, enjoyed a few rides, the crazy mirrored fun house and the slide ride with Randy.

Who's the police officer?

If you're being too loud, beware of the Lily police. If you're running around the house, beware of the Lily police. If you throw crumpled up wrapping paper, beware of the Lily police. Here is uncle Brian being TOLD by his 3-year-old niece. He didn't know the crumpled up wrapping paper law before it was too late.













After the Lily police issues her stern warning it usually leads to surprise laughter from everyone in the room which leads to Lily trying NOT to smile.

Free summer fun

I've never met a kid who hasn't LOVED a park and my kids are right in line with everyone else. If they could eat and sleep at a park they would be quite happy children. But the minute we say it's time to leave all hell breaks loose, tears start flowing, limbs start swinging. If only Starbucks would realize the potential of having a little coffee stand next to every play ground then we'd all be happy.

Sesame Street Live

Despite Randy being sick as a dog we went to Sesame Street Live a few weeks ago. Lily seemed to like it as evidenced by sitting quietly with an open mouth the entire show. Harrison liked it for the first 15 minutes as evidenced by sitting or standing quietly with an open mouth. Then he decided laying on the cement floor was way more fun. I walked around with him the rest of the show and he lasted until the it was over. We decided against going broke over expensive light sticks and elmo basketballs. Thankfully our kids are too young to realize they can't sucker their parents just yet.

Months of Mays Past

May 2006










May 2007











May 2008











May 2009