Monday, March 28, 2011

Entertainment Around Our House

Josie has become obsessed with the buckles on her booster seat. I remember that Xander also went through this phase. "Look what I can do, I can buckle myself in! Wait, now it's buckled and I can't go anywhere! Momma, open! Open! Open, Momma!" Ok, she only says the last part.

Tired of being called over to unbuckle the little sweetheart, I took the seat off of the chair and set it on the floor. Added bonus, more buckles to put together! Now, when she sits down and buckles up, this is what we get.



Xander saw that I recorded Josie and had to get in on that fun.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Mystery House

My brother and his wife visited this week. It was awesome to see some familiar faces and play many games of Euchre. Xander and Josie were beyond ecstatic to see them. There were hugs and kisses and cuddles galore. It was especially nice to see Josie not panic at the sight of Uncle Lee like she did at Christmas.

One of the few things that we attempted to do together was go to the Winchester Mystery House.

I will pause right there and insert a PSA.
Winchester Mystery House and other mansion walking tours are not appropriate for small children. There is no where to take them if they lose it. You can't give them toys that make noise. You can't give them food or drink. Just don't do it.

That being said, we tried it. Josie did not want to play 'Follow the Line of Strangers' and instead kept trying to duck under ropes. She became rather loudly upset when Chris stopped her. He followed behind the tour and tried to occupy her, but then we had to stop in a room and close the door. Chris and Josie had to join the group. Then Xander, who was walking along happy as a clam, started to lose it. The guide was more than happy to stop the tour and call for someone to walk Chris out with the kids. I stayed with my brother and wife to continue the tour.

I thought the house was pretty cool. I was a little disappointed by how some of the rooms were bare, even had the walls torn down, but they left the house alone since Sarah Winchester's death. While the architecture was crazy, it was still interesting and beautiful. Maybe I'll try to make it for a night time tour while we are out here.

Meanwhile, it was raining outside. Chris had to spend an hour in the car with the kids. He is my hero.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Time to Wake Up

We have done nothing to blog about lately. We've gone for some walks, played in some parks and watched too much television. And I know some of you are suffering from cuteness withdraw due to the lack of photos.

So without further ado, here is Xander after he wakes up from a nap.


He always pulls up the blankets and gets hot enough to sweat. Apparently he sweats it out for an hour and a half. Look at the rosy cheeks and mussed hair! (Also, it's pretty funny seeing Josie climbing a chair in the background.


Both kids have a limit of bringing three friends (aka stuffed animals) to bed. It just got to a point that Xander had no more room in his bed, so we imposed a three friend limit. Even that seems a little extreme now that I think about it. They should only need one friend! No friends! And they should sleep flat on their backs with their hands at their sides! Maybe then they won't fight over who gets Curious George at bedtime.

Anyway. When Josie wakes up in the morning or at nap time, she refuses to leave any friend behind in that crib. She sits down and gathers them all up in a death hug. When I pick her up, all of the friends come up and get squished in between us. And if one of them happens to fall back into the crib Josie will lunge for all she's worth, calling the fallen friend by name. It's like a scene from a war movie with the helicopter leaving and a soldier on board screaming for a fallen comrade.

Here she is with Sparkles (who does not wear her tutu to bed), Curious George and Baby Doll.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

church story from Dad

Amanda and I have been going to church together since I started RCIA in the fall of 2002. We've kept that up with the kids since they've been born as well. At communion time we've just carried them up in our arms for a blessing. Now they are walking up and either receiving a blessing or are ignored, either are fine with me. This past weekend at church Xander and I get back to our pew after communion and he starts questioning me as I bend down to kneel on the kneeler "Dad, what are you eating? Dad, what did you drink? Dad, what did you eat? Dad, what are you eating?" All this in the time that it takes me to finish chewing.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Bay Trail: Two Strikes

Way back on December 12, it was a fairly nice Sunday and we decided to get out. We didn't want to go on a big trip and I commented that I'd read about Baylands Preserve on the city's website. I looked it up and there were several paths. There was a long running one and some loops that circled back around.

Mom: Look, this loop is one mile, sound about right for the kids.
Dad: Sounds good, let's go.

The walk itself wasn't all that great. We're used to walking through metroparks with lots of towering trees. This was a walk through marshland that was dried out, being December and all. There were ducks and others walking around, but nothing too exciting to see.

After walking for an hour we realized that we'd definitely missed the turn to stay on the loop and were on the long path called Bay Trail that connected Baylands Preserve to Shoreline Park. It was oddly deceiving because the entire time we were walking we could see another trail running perpendicular to us up a hill. We thought we'd connect to that trail but never did.

The kids were falling apart at that point. Xander was tired of walking and we were tired of carrying him. Josie was tired of being in the back pack but refused to walk on the trail and in the direction we were walking. So we debated what to do. Chris said we were closer to Shoreline Park and we just headed that direction. We discussed how to handle getting the car and I started looking up a cab company on my handy phone when Chris boldly walked up to a woman walking two little dogs and asked her to give me a ride to the other park.

She kindly agreed and it within twenty minutes we were all loaded up and heading home, chuckling about the mistake.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, March 12. We decided to walk on a different part of the Bay Trail starting at Shoreline Park. We didn't bother with strollers or back packs this time, instead we just took our leisurely time and let the kids explore. The grass and reeds were all green and grown in, we had to stop several times just so the kids could wave their arms through them. Ducks, seagulls and other birds were everywhere, Josie repeatedly quacked at them. We stayed awhile by a small area that had sail boats and paddle boats where Xander insisted on reading every sign (and by 'read' I mean that he and Chris sounded out every word).

As we headed back, Chris suddenly took off running ahead of us. I didn't see it happen, but he saw an older woman come down a small incline on a scooter and wreck on the path ahead of us. Before I even realized what was happening Xander asked "Is she okay?" Chris helped her up to sitting but she was clearly groggy and as I approached with the kids I could see blood on her face and knuckles.

This was one of the few times I didn't have tissues or wipes with me so Chris asked some people walking by who also stopped to help. I had the kids sit down next to the path (and they listened really well!), pulled the woman's scooter aside and helped her remove her purse because blood was actually dripping down her face.

The woman kept refusing help but she still seemed shaky and was still bleeding. Chris finally just reached under his shirt and ripped his undershirt to hold on a gash by her eye. We think her sunglasses actually caused that one. She said she was going to walk to her son but Chris insisted on walking with her.

Xander, Josie and I headed back along the path to the car. Xander asked again if the woman was going to be okay. I told him yes and reminded him that accidents happen and he should always wear his helmet. He proceeded to point out everyone who passed us on a bike and if they were wearing a helmet or not. I suppose it's a good way to get the point across.

The kids took their time on the path and I wasn't in a hurry to beat Chris to the car, so the woman, her son and Chris actually caught up to us by the end. Her bleeding seemed better and she was definitely coherent but her son was still going to take her to urgent care.

At that point Xander made a comment about how she should wear a helmet. Yikes.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Life is a Board Game

Let's see if you can name the game.

This afternoon a friend let me know that she and her kids would not be able to meet us for a play date. I informed Xander of this turn of events.

Mom: Xander, Dusty can't meet us at the park today.

Xander: Really? Why not?

M: His mom says he has a cold and needs to stay home.

X: A cold? Did he jump in a puddle?

M: Um, I don't know.

X: Because if you jump in puddles you will catch a cold.

M: Oooookay.

X: That's not good. Now Dusty needs to go down the slide. And I'm going to get the cat from the tree.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

What is the Opposite of an Escape Artist?

Whenever Chris takes the kids to a playground he tries to be a good father and teaches them things like sharing and playing games. He doesn't stop to think "How will knowing this impact our children and my wife?" His desire is to impart knowledge, social skills and safety. So teaching Josie to climb a ladder has led to this.



Despite my efforts to move that changing table, it easily slides on the hard wood floor. Xander is usually the culprit for putting next to the crib but I've seen Josie move it.

I'm just happy that she hasn't figured out how to climb back out. Yet.

Dad Teaches How To Jump Rope

First, Dad demonstrates how to jump rope.



Then, Xander jumps and holds a rope, therefore he must be jumping rope.




And, finally, demand that Josie learn to jump despite not being able to jump.




Sadly, I was not taped jumping. I did awesome though.