Amazing Little Guy

Those of you who know him know he's extremely ornery. He will push you to the limit. He's loud. Someone said he was like one of the Three Stooges. Getting you to chase him is his #1 goal, so he runs. A lot. And fast. You can't take him to quiet places. If you try to tell him something, he will talk louder so he can't hear you. He's going to be a fun adolescent.

But WE LOVE HIM!

Our dear boy turned 3 years old on Friday, March 5th. His birthday is a joyous occasion. It was made more exciting because one of A.J.'s favorite things in the world is birthday cake and candles. He loves talking about it, reading about it...and getting to be the birthday boy was pretty darn sweet.

I made his birthday cake. Storebought cakes, in my opinion, have no taste other than sweet. I got a book on cakes from the library, and with the advice of a couple of John's cousins on Facebook, I decided to make a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Lots of eggs. Lots of butter. And powdered sugar up to my eyeballs. Totally worth it:



A.J. did well for his birthday. He got some action figures (he's very into posable action figures), a toolset (see the video), a Big Wheel, Play-Doh, a Diego DVD (he loves Dora, but Diego is kinda the male version).

And thanks to everyone for sending money and cards.

My wonderful in-laws are planning a birthday celebration – a pool party – this weekend here in Battle Creek as a celebration of both Stella's and Albert's birthdays. That should be fun. I'll be sure to post pictures and/or video. A.J. will no doubt enjoy another chance to blow out the candles.

He's my wild little man.

Dear Stella,

I remember how much joy you brought me the day you were born, six years ago this very day.

I never knew I could feel so much love.

Here is a picture of one of my fondest memories. Every afternoon, I would lay on my bed, sit you on my chest, and we'd "talk." Your smile was always the best reward.



Here you are today, just before you left for school.



Happy Birthday, Stella. Mommy loves you.

Stella's birthday blessing

Father Brian met with us on Friday to give Stella her birthday blessing. She turns 6 on Wednesday. On the first Sunday of every month, he blesses people whose birthdays are in that month. He made a special time to see Stella. Here it is:



Watch over your child, O Lord, as her days increase; bless and guide her wherever she may be. Strengthen her when she stands; comfort her when discouraged or sorrowful; raise her up if she falls; and in her heart may your peace which passes understanding abide all the days of her life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sweet dreams and Halloween

October went by in a flash. Despite the virulent H1N1 sickness that has spread around here, both kids stayed relatively healthy and were among some of the first kids on our county to be vaccinated. However, the numbers of sick kids and teachers has caused both Stella's school and A.J.'s daycare to have closures. I hope to get the vaccine myself this Saturday, and I plan to wait in line an hour early.

A.J. had a big change in October. On October 24, A.J.'s new big boy bed was delivered, thanks to the generosity of his Papa and Grandma. (John insists that I get photos of things like delivery trucks!)


He was napping peacefully in the master bedroom when the bed was delivered, so we had a chance to get it ready before he woke up. In this picture, you can see the chest-of-drawers which is really nice, too. The wood is a dark stain and solid & heavy. The headboard has a bookshelf. It's a twin bed. A.J.'s little room couldn't handle anything bigger.


When he woke up, he had to try it out. He was a little mystified at first.


He discovered that I put his Curious George books on the bookshelf, & that started things off on a good note. This transition has actually been a non-event (the time change we've had recently is another story). A.J. hasn't had any trouble going to sleep in his new bed. He seems to like that we can lay in bed with him while we read books at bedtime. He loves his big boy bed!


Stella was a kitty for Halloween. Here she is on Halloween night. She enjoyed seeing all the trick-or-treaters come to our door. We always get well over 100, sometimes 200, kids. Her school had a Halloween party and a therapy dog, a labradoodle, come to visit the kids in her room, and we got to see him. He name is Barnabus.


A.J. had a full calendar for Halloween. His daycare had a party where the kids went around the building trick-or-treating. Here is the best photo I have of his costume. He was "Super Why," a PBS cartoon superhero who finds the solution to problems in a book. The woman in the photo is Miss Cherie, one of his teachers and the girl on the far left is Jahia, his best bud at daycare. These kids were moving targets which is why this photo is so bad!


A.J and I pose on the stairs before going around the neighborhood. It was cold. We only made it to 3 or 4 houses.


Stella answers the door when we come trick-or-treating!


Now we are just waiting for the 24th when my mom, Nana, comes to visit for a week! As usual she's coming on the Amtrak and we are so excited!!

Writer's Block

This blog has slowed waay waay down. Gone are the days of A.J.'s exciting new milestones ... gone is my courage to write about controversial topics. And all my photos have the exact same backdrop (the backyard or the living room). Life seems to be moving in one horizontal line.

But I'll try.

First Stella has been doing really well with her potty-training. She recently started going to the bathroom on her own, without anyone telling her to. Accidents are still common, but as long as she's showing some independence in this area, we don't mind.



Even though progress is slow with regard to speech, pretty much everyone who works with her has noticed a lot of improvement. She gets private speech therapy twice a week, which is made possible in part by her loving grandparents. We also recently got a grant for some of the cost through a local organization called the Hayley's Ride Foundation, which was started by a local mom (a friend of mine too). It started as an event for motorcycle riders, but they have events throughout the year. The money goes to help pay for local kids to get speech and occupational therapy. I never thought we would need it, but the insurance company denied us this therapy ... so I'm glad it's there. The extra day a week (2 days/wk) really seems to be helping Stella, and the therapy center is only about 2 miles from our house, making it easier for me to run her over there after school.

A.J. is still crazy boy. He gets faster and sneakier every day. . He still loves to be mischievous and then run away laughing. Catching him is like trying to catch a field mouse with your bare hands. He's low to the ground and he can pivot like KU point guard.

Here's the little guy enjoying some time outside. I'm so glad he doesn't seem to mind the hat and mittens as much as his sister does.



It's been really cool here. Fall pretty much came right on schedule. It got cool and rainy right about the first day of fall, and October has been totally chilly. Last Halloween, it was nice and warm. This year, October feels like late November. Even the colds have been coming around early (fingers crossed no H1N1). Both kids have had runny noses and their poor dad had a cold and now a sinus infection.



Last, please someone take my water bath canner away from me. I'm like a hoarder of canned goods. Today I made another batch of salsa (not as good as the first - the peppers weren't hot enough). A few weeks ago, I made blueberry jam (jam is a skill I have clearly not mastered). Now that the growing season is done, though, I guess I will stop. I did pretty good for my first year, though.

In the basement


Take care, everyone!

September

It's been awhile since I blogged...things are busy. I'm finishing a couple of major projects this week, so I hope that means I'll have time to take A.J. to the zoo, get his Halloween costume, get things in order.

It can't help that ever since Aunt Edie left, I've been canning. I now know why, in a very real way, people started depending on manufacturers to do the canning...it's hard work. It's absorbing while you're doing it, but when you finally pull the last jar out of the hot water, you feel like collapsing. I've canned several quart and pint jars of tomatoes, pickled beets and now salsa. I'm trying to stick with the things I use often. I buy an awful lot of canned tomatoes so I can make spaghetti sauce and chili...so it seems justified. I also like beets on my salads. Salsa we use a lot, too. Next year I might try to do some cherry or blueberry preserves.

We had a good visit with Joe and Kathy at the cottage the Labor Day weekend (and a few days before). Stella really enjoyed the water this time, and she especially enjoyed being on the boat. She spent a lot of time on it even when it was docked. She loved the day we took it for a ride, too.



A.J. had fun, too. I took them both kayaking, and that was fun. They spent a lot of time outside by the water. The exhaustion of it all got to A.J.


He's still our musical prodigy...he's plugging in now!


Very very ornery...not sure what to do with him! He has made numerous purposeful messes today, including dumping out all the laundry detergent!

Stella started school Sept. 8th, and that's been an adjustment for her, and we're still trying to get into the groove. Overall she seems to be doing well. Luckily the weather is still nice and she can play outside when she gets home.

She lost her first tooth here recently, but darned if I can't get a picture of it. I tried but this is as far as I got:


(Yes, I know; she's often quite dirty).

That's about it. Will try to write blogs more often.

Our long-awaited visitor

My most dear & wonderful Aunt Edie just took the Amtrak train out of Battle Creek this morning. We had a whirlwind visit. The four days she was here went by so fast.

The kids loved her, especially Stella. She was never so smiley, happy and agreeable as these last few days that Aunt Edie has been showering her with attention.


A.J. has been more of a mama's boy, but still enjoyed some good times with Aunt Edie.


She got here on Monday, and late Monday night, I realized I was getting sick...what a bummer that had to be during her visit, but without her taking care of those kids during those few days of dizziness and fever, I would've been in trouble. Stella's summer school finished last week and the school year doesn't start until Sept. 8th, so her visit was a lifesaver that helped preserve my sanity.

Aunt Edie got to be witness to a lot of A.J.'s guitar-playing and drumming:

(He got his new guitar recently)

MOST IMPORTANTLY, Aunt Edie helped me can tomatoes for the first time. I used a combination of farmers market tomatoes and my heirlooms, and I have twelve jars! I was so proud when we were finished!


Is there anything she can't do?


Thank you so much for coming to visit us, Aunt Edie!