Birthday "season" is over

Carson woke up yesterday asking if it was his birthday. No, sorry buddy, not for another year. What a let down! After all the build up of a party the weekend before and talking about what he wants to do on his special day and then it's just over. He had so much fun though! We had a normal play in the backyard morning, because that is what he asked for. After naps we went to Steak 'n' Shake where he devoured a cheeseburger and french fries (I did not order him cottage cheese as he is used to....only fries!!). Then we went to the mall so he could play in the playland as this was his original request for the morning, but he changed it after I had fixed my hair and put on make up - love boys - no concept of what we go through to go out in public - guess it starts young!! Then, we ate his birthday treat at the mall. He wanted brownies, but I didn't see the point of making a whole pan for the four of us, so we bought some huge brownies with thick icing at the mall and Delaney had hers gone in less than 10 minutes. Carson ate less than 1/2 of his at the mall and brought the rest home. Car really seemed to enjoy his gifts and went to bed a happy 2 year old!

The rest of our week was pretty exciting also. On Wednesday we went to the Children's Museum with some friends of ours. We got to see the trains, dinosaurs, and take a ride on the carousel. This was Carson's first trip on the carousel where he didn't freeze up and freak out on me. It was very fun!

On Monday and Wednesday we had swim lessons. We alternated the kids in and out of the water in 10/15 minute intervals since the doctor didn't like how Matt's hand was healing so he couldn't put it in nasty public pool water (his hand looks great now, so I'm glad he didn't risk it). The kids did a very good job of understanding that it was the other one's turn and they would have to sit with Daddy for a while till they got to get in again or until it was over. I was impressed with their maturity in this area. I expected there to be tears, screaming, and kicking involved, but it didn't happen.

Friday was full of adventure also. Kevin (Matt's dad) and Matt decided to do some modifications to our deck. I thought I'd escape with the kids, but they did such a good job when Kevin and Matt went outside that we decided to stick around. I was worried that they'd stand at the door and yell for them or knock on windows and distract them. That didn't happen until after they woke up from their naps, then they decided to be "annoying." So, we left and I dropped them off with Grammy (my mom) and took my dad with me to get dinner for everyone. We met back up at our house and enjoyed fish fry food and good company before Kevin and Matt went back out to tackle the deck. The hot tub hole has been made and the hot tub is in it. The new addition to the deck is framed and the wood is sitting on it. However, today it has decided to mist and sprinkle most of the day, so there hasn't been any progress. Hopefully by the end of the week I can send pictures of the completed project. I am going to have to keep the kids out of the backyard until it is done, so I hope it happens fast :-)

I will attach a few cute pictures from the week. Enjoy!

Gretchen

It's only fair that the birthday boy gets a picture sent out on his birthday too! He chose to stay home and swim in the backyard this morning. As of before his birthday nap we are going to Steak 'n' Shake and having brownies for a birthday treat. We'll see if that is still the plan when he wakes up.

Enjoy!
Gretchen

We had a party!!

Delaney and Carson threw a wild Backyardigans party on Saturday night! We had a nacho/taco bar and then they opened presents. They were thrilled with every single one and they have all been played with constantly since Saturday evening. New books have been read a few times, stuffed animals have been cuddled, trains have ran all over the living room floor! Carson has been a fireman and Delaney a train conductor. New outdoor toys have been played with inside (minus the water, of course) because it is just too hot to go out and enjoy them. Binoculars have been used (in the car and in Olive Garden) and puzzles have been done and undone (and done and undone again). All in all, they are both happy and we are excited that they have some new things to do.

The week leading up to the party was fairly uneventful. We had fill-ins for swimming lessons because Matt couldn't get his stitches wet, at least not in a public pool. Aunt Shannon went with us on Monday and Rachelle (a college age girl from church who loves our kids dearly) went with us on Wednesday. Hopefully today Matt can go again. He is supposed to get his stitches out this morning, but I still don't know that his wound should be exposed to the nasties of a public pool...we'll see what they say.

Enjoy the pictures!

Gretchen

Birthday girl!

I thought you would all enjoy a peek at Delaney on her big third birthday. She wanted to go to a new park this morning, so that's what we did!! She also talked about a birthday hat all weekend, so I made her the hat she's wearing last night. I bought the foam tiara at JoAnn, I just put her name and a 3 on it...she thinks she's the queen!!

We're getting old!

It is hard for us to believe that on Monday our baby girl will be 3 years old. Something about that number makes her not seem like a baby anymore. A few of her hilarious stories from this week make us realize that she really isn't a baby. Thursday afternoon she was playing with Little People while I was cleaning up the lunch dishes and I heard her saying, "Your body tensed, your eyes grew wider, and your mind raced." As I peeked around the corner at her she turned her back to me and kept on playing. She was taking the phrase from a Sesame Street book that she loves to read about being afraid of the dark. Then, tonight we were getting ready to leave the house and I was trying to put her shoes on her. We were having a time of it and she was getting very frustrated with me. She slumped herself down on the floor and said, "Mom, this is ridiculous." I couldn't look up at her I was laughing sooooo hard! By the time I did look up it looked like I'd been crying! She's not a baby, is she?!?

Carson has had quite the week. We started swim lessons on Monday and he was ready to go all day long. He woke up from his nap and felt rather steamy, but I assumed it was just from snoozing so long, so we changed our clothes and headed off to lessons. As we were nearing the end of lessons he became very clingy and whimpery. By the time we got home, we knew something was wrong. He went from bad to worse throughout the next 3 hours...he had a fever of 103 and was unhappy about everything. By Tuesday morning when I called the doctor he seemed to be doing better, but I thought he should be checked out anyways. Luckily we went because he had strep throat...yuck! He was totally better by Wednesday morning.

They both did great at swim lessons on Wednesday...Delaney loves to jump in "alone" and swim "alone." She claims to be ready for the class that we don't have to get into the water with her. She may be ready, but we're not!! Carson is still timid at lessons, but he was a wild man in our plastic pool in the backyard. He was in and out and up and down. He fell over twice which resulted in a face full of water and he just came up spitting and laughing. Hope that helped loosen him up for lessons on Monday.

Matt has news - for the safety of everyone in our county, he won't be a fireman anytime in the near future. I say for the safety of everyone in our county because somehow, at his desk job today, he managed to try to cut his thumb off....anyone see an issue there?!? He came home before lunch with 10 stitches. On the downside though, he really did find out that he didn't get the job at our local fire dept. However, after much debating with himself, he did go sign the application to start the hiring process at the Indianapolis Fire Dept. It also looks to be a 6 month process, so don't look for any updates in the near future. He was placed on a list that the three townships he interviewed with will hire from. That list is good for 2 years, so, theoretically, he could get a call at anytime that he's next on the list.

I am off to rifle through the closet of gifts to see what Delaney will be getting Monday. I'd tell you all what we bought her tonight, but some of you can't keep a secret, so you'll have to wait to see the picture of her getting it Monday evening. Her birthday will be action packed with swim lessons and dinner out. She's requested Chinese :-) That's my girl!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Gretchen

June, seriously?!?

Wow - June already! It doesn't seem right that this month we will have a 2 year old and a 3 year old. Time flies when you are having fun and we have had fun this week! It has been an action packed week full of family and fun. On Monday we went to Meemo's (Matt's grandma) house for "Meemorial" day. She lives on a lake so there was plenty of fishing, swimming, and a few canoe rides. Delaney liked the idea of fishing, she even held and kissed a fish. Carson's attention span isn't quite as long, but he thought it was pretty fun for the first 10 minutes or so. They both swam in the lake. Delaney turned into a fish!!! She loved splashing around with Grandpa Bub and even learned to swim a few feet away from him - wearing a life jacket, of course! The ride home was longer than expected, because we thought that the kids would crash fast from the water and the lack of normal naps (Carson did snuggle up with Chelsea for a shorter than usual nap mid afternoon). However, the trip home consisted of 45 minutes of quiet time while they watched a movie and then a lot of whining, screaming, kicking, etc.... while they, mostly Delaney, wanted out. With the promise of Taco Bell, they quieted down and we made it home without too much stress.

While we were at Meemo's house we talked about Chelsea (Matt's cousin) coming to stay with us for the rest of the week so that I could get my garage sale stuff ready. She agreed, so Matt's dad brought her up Wednesday. I was able to get so much done because she was here. We had a lot of fun together. Wednesday we went to Kohl's and Ritter's (ice cream!!). Then, Thursday night she watched my favorite Friends DVD and we sat and ate ice cream and Oreo's at 11 o'clock at night....very fun! It was nice to have someone else around to help keep an eye on the kids so I could feel productive. I think we are almost ready for the garage sale....still some sorting and pricing that needs to be done, that's where I'm headed next.

Love to you all!!
Gretchen