Friday, October 31, 2008

Morning Exercises

This morning, Olivia was down on the floor and began performing some modified yoga poses. It looked like so much fun, I decided to join her.

We did side leg lifts, and some exercises for our tush. Afterwards, Olivia said, "Sanks mommy for exercising with me."

Monday, October 27, 2008

Just-a-Swingin

The kids love to crawl into a blanket and let George swing them around. They can't get enough of it!



They are also looking super cute in their new Elmo and Thomas the Train jammies. Hard to believe that Nate is already well into a 2T and his big sister is barely in a 3T. Last time we were at the doctor, Olivia only weighed 3 pounds more than Nate. He's our big boy!

Super Sunday

I'm a little delayed in getting these pictures posted but a few Sundays ago, we had a park marathon! It started with a trip to a park close to home, then the dog park for Charlie, and somehow we ended up in Chestnut Hill at another really neat park. I am really digging these spontaneous days, though it goes against my type 1 personality. If it were up to me, I'd plan an agenda, complete with mapquest directions from place to place. On the other hand, George gets an idea, we jump in the car and go.

Nate giggles the whole time he's swinging. Livy had so much fun chasing and kicking the soccer ball. At the 3rd and final park, the sand box was a big hit.

Nate really likes the slide. I got a bit too adventurous and let him go down without holding onto him. (Don't worry, it's a really short, small slide.) However, he face-planted into the mulch. Bad mommy! He took it in stride and wanted to go again. He's so fearless!

We are really enjoying these adventures. It's what makes moving so much fun. Who wants to unpack when there's so much fun to be had? We had a little saying at UF, "You can never re-live a party, but you can always re-take a class."

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Potty Progress

I did it! I finally did it. I just dug in and started potty training Olivia a few days ago. She's been talking a lot about going to school and most pre-schools require they be potty trained prior to admission. I didn't want my laziness to be the reason she couldn't get into preschool. I guess I've been putting it off because of the move and because of all the stories I've heard about how time consuming it is. Wasn't sure how I'd handle that time suck, plus Nate. I'm pleased to report, however, that she is doing very well! We've been wearing only big girl panties, except for nap time and night time. She's had a few pee pee accidents, but is really getting the hang of it, and even put her poo-poo in the potty twice! Each time she's successful, she gets a gummy body part. I know. It sounds gross, but she really likes them. Each time she tells me which part she wants: eyeball, nose, ear, foot, finger or teeth.

I have to admit though, it makes me a little sad to see her growing up. I have these fast-forward moments occasionally where she's doing something I think is really grown up and in my mind's eye, I see her getting on the school bus for the first time, riding a bike, as a gum-smacking teenager, or graduating high school. Even strangers in the grocery store tell me how fast they grow up and to enjoy these years. It must be true, because even in the short time I've been a mom, I can already see how quickly time passes. Seems like just yesterday we were new to Montana, she was toddling around, and I was pregnant. Today, she's singing "BINGO the dog" at storytime, putting her pee pee in the potty, and Nate is trying to talk. Amazing.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Drive-Through

We have a nifty set of windows in the living room that open up to the porch. When the kids are out there playing, it's pretty convenient to open a window and be able to see and hear what's going on. It didn't take Olivia long to figure out that when she stands at the window and we're on the other side, it's a lot like a drive-through. We've been playing "Mc-a-Donald's" placing pretend orders and even exchanging coins.

The next day, Nate decided he wanted a part-time job too. He hopped right up and started taking orders, with a smile!


"I want a fruit and yogurt parfait, and a pair of those dimples!"

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Things Kids Say

So this morning, our landlord's husband stopped by to meet us and take care of a few maintenance issues. We spent a few minutes visiting with him and introducing the kids. He made the mistake of talking with Olivia about Halloween costumes. He says, "I'm thinking of being a pirate. What do you think of that?" Olivia responds, "and Nate's gonna be a pee-nus!"

Oh Lord.

This isn't the first time Olivia has suggested one of us dress up like a penis. Usually, we're talking about Halloween, how she and Nate are going to be pirates, and she'll suggest that Daddy be a penis and Mommy will be a 'gina. At least she's got the right part paired to each of us. It just brings up that whole debate about using correct terminology or cutesy names like pickle and cookie. We've used those kind of names too but I figured it was time to talk to Olivia about the real names. Boy did that bite me in the butt. Maybe I should have waited?

Monday, October 13, 2008

Fall is in the Air

Ok, it was 73 degrees and sunny here, but the leaves ARE turning and it gets pretty chilly at night. My in-laws in Montana report their weather conditions are 23 degrees with SNOW. Hallelujah that we moved away. Our last snow of the "winter" was on June 10th and the first snow of the new season on October 11th? So, what...3 months of non-winter in Montana? Thanks, but no thanks.

Anyways, we set out for the pumpkin patch today but after looking at the map and determining that the one I found online was just across the state line from Trenton, NJ, we decided to visit a smaller farm only a few miles from home. However, on the way, we passed a fall festival that was happening and decided to stop there instead. The kids had an absolute blast!

There was music and dancing, a petting zoo, bouncy rides and a choo-choo train.


Check out Nate's fancy footwork above. He loves to tap his toes when he hears music. This looks like the famous Michael Jackson move.


Olivia refused to let George walk alongside the choo-choo. She told him, "No. You stay here with mommy." So, she squeezed in between two older girls and away she went.


Arrgghh! Tomorrow we'll get pumpkins!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I Could Make Money

I remember reading the funny little anecdotes about kids at the end of the Reader's Digest and wondering what kind of stories about my kids I'd have to tell. On Friday nite, we definitely had a Reader's Digest moment with Olivia. We were at a local restaurant and she was being her typical outgoing self, talking to the couple at the table behind us. She was standing on her chair, turned around, and babbling on about everything under the sun. Things like, "Daddy bought me Sleeping Beauty, and, then he kissed her." Pause "And then it just happened. Mommy put soap in my mouth." I asked her, "Well, do you remember why I put soap in your mouth? You said a bad word." Olivia looked at the woman, cocked her head to the side as if trying to recall, and said (with a poker straight face) "Dumbass. Right." We all burst out laughing.

Mostly she has been using this term with reference to Charlie. It usually goes like this, "Ahh cute dumbass." Or she chases him around taunting him with the insult. She has gotten several soap servings over this. It doesn't seem to bother her much. Either that, or she enjoys using the bad word more than she dislikes the soap. If she keeps it up, I'll have to up the ante. Vinegar is supposed to be really effective.

Never a dull moment around here, and thank goodness for that!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Imagination

One of the things that most entertains me is seeing the kids' imaginations at work. There were two incidents of this recently that I caught on film. First, I had blown up a small balloon for Olivia. After handling it for a few moments, it's shape morphed. She said excitedly, "Look! It's a binky."



A few days later, Nate knocked over the vacuum cleaner then climbed on top of it. He was straddling it as if it could really take him places and then added a little "bbbbbbb" sound effect. Maybe he was imagining it was a shiny new Harley Davidson?