lesson learned

You know what they say about assuming? I decided all of the sudden to take the kids to the children's museum today. We haven't been in a while and no one's sick (fingers crossed). So I got a few diapers together, a sippy cup, some animal crackers and loaded the kids into the van. I thought about bringing the single stroller and then thought no the double stroller will be better for walking to and from the parking garage. (Molly doesn't always cooperate when it's time to leave.) I didn't even think to make sure the stroller was in the van. Why wouldn't it be. So I park open the back of the van and nothing. I seriously thought about going home, but we were already there so I toughed it out without the stroller. My arm is killing me from lugging Gabe around. 20 lbs might not sound like a lot, but when he gets tired and doesn't want to support his own weight, holy cow.

Molly's ready to fight the fire. She was listening so intently, it almost made me think someone was on the other end.
She really liked rocking in the pretend water. I should have taken a video she looked like a crazy person rocking as fast as she could.

ta da

I put Gabe on the ground and he started crawling so fast. He saw a cute baby and couldn't get there quick enough. He's so sweet.

This is the first little car you see when entering the museum. Molly sat in it and I put Gabe next to her. From that point on any little car she could get in she'd get in the drivers seat and pat the bench next to her for Gabe. I wonder if she'll still feel that way when she's 16...

a morning in pictures

At 12:30 today Molly's nap time had been underway for over 30 min. After about 20 min I have a green light to put Gabe down for a nap (without having to worry about Molly waking up from Gabe rolling around as he gets comfortable). So I slowly open the door to ensure that she is in fact sleeping. And what do I find? An empty bed. I immediately get a little nervous. She isn't in bed and it's quiet. (That usually means t.r.o.u.b.l.e. Last week I heard Gabe singing to himself around when they usually wake up. I foolishly thought because Molly hadn't opened the door and come out to find me that she was still asleep. No, Molly wasn't asleep. She had climbed up the side of Gabe's crib and turned on the closet light. Then she went into the closet and found a marker. She was coloring all over her hands, pants and a piece of paper. Luckily it was a washable crayola marker and not a permanent scrap booking one.)

When I step into the room what do I find?

She was passed out in the rocking chair. I couldn't resist grabbing the camera. I love it that she put a blanket over herself and had a book on her lap. She cracks me up.

When Molly was crawling and even when she first started walking she was always hesitant to leave the room she was in. Granted we lived in a small apartment, but I think she was really scared of the hallway. Gabe has no problem leaving us and exploring on his own. I left him unattended on the floor for a few minutes and this is where I found him. Now I have a baby with a wet bottom.

Drew took this picture yesterday morning. I think it's sweet. Gabe is dressed and ready for church and Molly is finishing breakfast. He loves grabbing her feet as she eats at the table. Molly thinks it's funny, but promptly moves her feet somewhere else.

I guess I've never noticed how much volume Molly's hair has when she first wakes up. She looks like she could be a country music star. :)

snow warning?

It's been beautiful outside this past week. We've been having lots of fun going outside and playing in nothing more than a long sleeve shirt or a sweatshirt. I think it was 63 on Tuesday. Yesterday it was 54 , like I said beautiful. The weather reports have been saying that a snow storm was coming today. Some areas could get up to 12in. Here in Lincoln they were saying 6+. I told Drew I didn't believe it. We've gotten snow about 4 times this winter and each time we've never gotten more than about 1 1/2 inches. I told him I thought we'd get snow, but no more than 3 inches. I think we usually get about a half of what's predicted.

peek a boo!

I guess I was wrong. I think we have about 3 or 4 inches now and it's still snowing. I think it's supposed to end soon. I don't think NE Lincoln will get to 6 inches, but more than the 3 I predicted.

Molly loves the snow. Here she is having a ball before nap time.

my handsome boy

For some reason this basketball has become a sort of trophy in our home. Molly and Gabe love it. I put it away in the hall closet and a couple hours later it reappears. It's almost the size of them, but they can't get enough. Gabe was so excited to have it to himself, who would guess he's sick?Gabe has an ear infection. Other than wanting to be cuddled a little more than usual and not wanting anyone touching the left side of his head, he's handling it like a champ. I do have to say that I LOVE the kids doctors office. They're great about getting us in quickly when the kids are sick and we never have to wait in the waiting room for more than 10 min. Everyone who I've talked to there has always been very helpful. Even though I'd prefer not to be at the doctors office as often as I seem to be, at least I like the staff.

Olive Mill

Drew and I were flipping through channels and we caught the last 10 min of that dirty jobs show. In the show the host was at the Queen Creek Olive Mill learning how to make olive oil. A couple years ago my mom was telling me that she saw a show on PBS about this olive mill in AZ and about how it looked cool and we should check it out. So we did. We actually went with Drew's mom and took a tour of the place. It was really neat. They make/sell all different kinds of olive oils, which you can sample. I had never had fresh olive oil before. It's amazing what a difference there is between fresh and what they sell in the grocery store. Fresh olive oil tastes grassy and peppery. It makes you realize what an inferior product they sell in super markets. In closing if your ever in the PHX area Queen Creek is about an hour south east and you should check out the Queen Creek Olive Mill. Go have lunch, take a tour, sample some olive oils and support local farmers.

tea party anyone?

Here is the dynamic duo watching for Drew. Basically anytime I want Molly out of the kitchen while I'm cooking dinner I say "Go look out the window. Can you see daddy?". It buys me a few minutes.

Wednesday morning we were at a friends house. We got home after our usual nap time. So after eating lunch Molly was exhausted. She slept 3 hours. That's a record for her. When it was time to wake up I walked in and turned off the music and fan. She didn't move. Then I went back in 10 min later, I opened the curtains and blinds. Still no movement. Finally Gabe and I sat on her bed and started talking to her. She finally woke up at 5:10. I was really surprised she went to bed at her usual bedtime. She even slept in until a little after 8. I guess playing all morning really wore her out. I can't wait until we can play outside again!

She won't sleep with blankets, so she tucks her legs and arms under her. It cracks me up. It can't be comfortable.

I was in awe of Molly this morning. I made her french toast. It's her favorite. So she ate a whole piece. Then I opened a cereal bar to share with Gabe. The second Molly saw it she wanted some. I broke it into two not even pieces I gave her the smaller one, but she persisted on having the bigger one. To my surprise she finished that. When she saw Drew with a bowl of cereal she ran into the kitchen to get a spoon. She then mooched cereal off Drew. This all took place between 8 and 8:30. At 9 I started pureeing different fruits for Gabe. She was so excited to see pears and pineapple. So she ate a bunch of that too. Holy cow, the girl can eat.

Our biggest purchase to date

I really like the size of our car. I can fit the double stroller and all my grocery's in the trunk. I like the way our car looks and it's tinted windows. The one problem with our car is that it isn't reliable. It's great for running around town, but I'm always nervous when we're leaving town. It was my grandma's car. It's a 99 with no miles. Even though it doesn't have any miles it's old and it always needs a bunch of little repairs all the time. It's more than a little frustrating. Drew and I were looking at cars and talking about getting something else. But I didn't think getting another car would be the best option. We're planning on being in Lincoln for 5 years. I can honestly see us having more than one kid in the next five years and then we'd need something bigger. So we started looking at mini vans.

On Monday we put money down on a Nissan Quest.

This will be our new ride. Well almost, ours is white. Were picking it up Saturday. Even though it was my idea, I can't believe that I'm 25 and have a mini van. I feel way too young. But it's really nice and I'm excited. It's an 08 with 21k miles, which means it still has a warranty. Yeah! When it's freezing cold I'll be able to shut the doors as I buckle the kids in. So now we're one of "those" families. The ones with the mini vans.