Month: September 2010

I have previously mentioned my bad habit when shopping at Sam’s Club. Today I found the perfect sized tootsie rolls and have already made quite a dent in them. I may have to add this one to my regular shopping list.

Amber and Abram planned a trip for us to the zoo today. Amber was watching Abby so we managed to get three car seats in my car – quite an accomplishment!

To make it work with two adults and three kids, we put the boys in Abram’s wagon. The boys didn’t seem to mind and spent the majority of the time munching on snacks:

The boys weren’t interested in the animals, but had a great time running here and there and everywhere:

We ended the day with a ride on the train. Alex would excitedly yell “choo choo” every time he heard the whistle:

As we were leaving the zoo, Abram was determined to give Alex a hug. This time Alex hugged back:

Alex and Abram love to take turns pushing each other in the doll stroller. Silly boys.

Tabit is settling in just fine at the Burch House. She is into everything, just like a typical kitten. She pretty much ignores her cat toys, but she loves Alex’s dinosaur. She attacks the plastic, she attacks the balls, she can even bat the balls out of the dinosaur. Tabit has also taken over Madison’s pillows. The tiny kitten (less than 2 pounds) gets lost on Madison’s big pillows, but it’s where she wants to sleep.

Our new kitty finally has a name – Tabit. The little girl is fearless. She explores everything and doesn’t hide from Alex or Madison. This morning I found the tiny little kitten curled up on Madison’s dog pillow and Madison asleep on the floor. Tabit definitely enjoys napping – she will curl up with almost anything:

This afternoon we went to meet Maddie – Heidi and Andy’s new daughter. She is so tiny and slept through our entire visit.

Alex wasn’t excited about the baby and was ready to leave as soon as we got there. That’s what happens when you only nap an hour all day long.

Wade has always vehemently stated his dislike of cats. Imagine my surprise when he was interested in adopting a blind kitty. My neighbor, Amber, was getting a new kitten and was trying to find homes for the remaining two, who had limited vision. They both had had eye infections and one was completely blind and the other was blind in one eye.

In the end we have a new kitten who is blind in one eye and the Strouds have two new kittens, including the blind kitten. Both Madison and Alex seem to love the new little girl. We still don’t have a name for her, but hopefully soon. The kitten is officially Wade’s so he is in charge of naming.

The big outing for the day was to the pumpkin patch. Abram and Alex got a ride in the wagon and were in charge of the pumpkins.

The fun never stopped today. Alex and I started the morning with swim class at the YMCA. We went straight from swim to Monkey Joe’s for bouncing and pizza with Amber and Abram.

Alex was a little clingy and didn’t even enjoy the slides (which he normally loves). He loved looking at the huge blow-up Monkey Joe, but when I put Alex near him to get a picture it didn’t go so well.

The arcade area provided lots of entertainment. I love that Alex is too young to realize tokens are needed!

After nap time we went outside on the front steps to wait for Daddy.

Amber and Abram came over to deliver some things and stayed to play for a little while.

Wade is desperately trying to get the boys interested in soccer. The jury is still out on whether it is working….

Alex and Abram definitely know how to have a good time. Abram spent the morning with us and we had a blast. The boys played inside and outside. They played here and there.

After naptime, Alex and I got in the car for a drive to the Chicago airport. Wade was desperately trying to get home and that was as close as he could get. As a reward for all the driving we stopped at Chick-fil-a on the way home for dinner:

Alex tries to imitate almost anything he sees – especially what other kids are doing. Today he really wanted to ride Abram’s bike just like Abram.

Alex was a Booger pretty much all day. Thankfully Abram came to play for a little while. Suddenly I had a happy boy again.

Abram and Alex even attempted a game of catch. I’m not sure Alex got the concept, but Abram definitely did:

Amy and Nate had Maggie on September 8 and today we finally got to meet her. She was a little angel and slept through most of our visit.

Alex was interested in petting her (like Madison) for a few minutes.

Then Nate let him play with all of Maggie’s toys:

Alex and Abram have matching motorized four-wheelers. Watch out pedestrians!

Today was a busy day! Alex and I started with swim class and then drove straight to Chuck E. Cheese. Abram had requested the trip with his best friend Alex. Amber and I were pleasantly surprised to find the place pretty much empty. The boys had a great time running here and there and pizza is always good for lunch.

Abram loved giving Alex hugs today, but Alex wasn’t too sure about them.

Alex was worn out after his morning of fun but managed to stay awake until we got home. Wade had been away all week, but his flight got in while we were gone. He was happy to read Alex his books and put him down for a nap. Abram called after nap and wanted to play. When he realized Wade was home he got really excited. Wade is one of Abram’s “new best friends.” Abram’s dad, Nick, was driving him past the zoo last week and Abram said, “I want to go to the zoo with my best friend Alex and my best friend Wade.” Nick had to ask if he could come too and Abram gave a hesitant “yes.”

The boys also managed to get wet again (this has happened every time they have played together this week) using Abram’s new fire truck. (I think Alex may need one of these next year.):

Alex’s vocabulary is expanding like crazy. Most of the time we just get the first sound of a word, but it’s cute to hear. He calls his Moose (his favorite lovey) “Mo”. He says “than too” for thank you. He also knows “ball”, “choo choo”, “milk”, “chip”, “more”, “fire”, “shoes”, “flower”, “frog”, “basketball”, “daddy”, and “ma”. He also recently added “Madison” to his vocabulary. I would never have realized what he was saying if he hadn’t been repeating me:

Amber was babysitting for a little girl this morning and asked us over to play. We started at their house and quickly ended up in our backyard. The boys wanted to play in the water so we just shrugged and helped them drag out all the toys:

We all took a break for dry clothes and then invaded Amber’s upstairs:

Funny story about Alex and the little girl when we were at our house. Alex does fine with Abram playing with his toys (as long as they don’t get taken from his hands). The minute we handed the little girl a toy Alex would run over and take it away. I was holding her for a few minutes and Alex didn’t like that either. He tried to climb into my arms too.

Today Alex started back to Mother’s Day Out. He wanted to carry his lunch box and was quick to start playing when we arrived.

When I picked him up, the ladies told me he did great. He ate most of his lunch; played with the other kids; and even took a nap on a cot. Ms. Tracey did tell me that Alex talked himself to sleep saying “Stop the fire”. I have heard him say “fire”, but nothing that sounds like “stop the fire.” He also did an art project. I see the talent, don’t you?

Pretty soon after we got home, Abram and Amber came over to lend me an onion. We went outside and the boys immediately started playing in Madison’s water bowl. Then of course we had to pull out the fire hose.

Everybody went home to get dry clothes and dinner before meeting up again for popcorn and licorice!

Welcome to the world Madeleine!

I never eat as well when Wade is out of town. I’m much more likely to have mac and cheese for dinner or just peanut butter and crackers. I also tend to make yummy desserts that are all for me. Wade’s gone all week and I’ll just have to eat this by myself (not that he would help if he were here).

Chocolate Layered Mousse
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box instant chocolate pudding
1 large Hershey candy bar
1 large container Cool Whip
1.) Bake cake according to box directions and set aside to cool. Make pudding according to box directions and put in fridge. Defrost cool whip slightly so it can be spread. Grate Hershey bar.
2.) Fill large bowl with layers – chocolate pudding, crumbled cake, chocolate shavings, cool whip. Repeat till bowl is full.

I got a phone call about 10:30 AM this morning. Abram was calling to see if Alex could play. We bounced back and forth between our houses but ended up eating suckers in our kitchen.

At one point Alex reached for Abram’s sucker and Abram willingly traded. I love to watch these two together!

When flying with a toddler, be sure to arrive early to check out all the planes. Alex loved to point out the choo choos taking off:

For three out of our four flights we ended up in a three-seat-row with an empty seat. At each gate we would ask the airline attendant if there were any seats and they were happy to rearrange things for us. On today’s flight from Seattle to Minneapolis we had an extra seat and decided to use Alex’s car seat (which can be checked at the counter or gate-checked). The biggest problem was Alex figured out he could kick the seat in front of him. Otherwise it worked like a charm and he took an hour nap:

Our layover in Minneapolis was pretty short (thank goodness). Having a husband that flies quite a bit comes in handy. Wade knew some great spots to camp out where Alex could run around.

Our last flight was a breeze. We had a third seat and didn’t even use it. Alex fell asleep in Wade’s arms before takeoff and had to be woken when we were ready to get off the plane.

A list of tips that worked for us:
*Now that airlines charge for checked baggage, every bag counts. Thankfully all airlines will check strollers and car seats free of charge – at the counter or at the gate. Having a husband with a perks card helps too – we each got to check two bags for free.
*Children under two can ride in your lap for free. It’s not always comfortable but it saves enough that we took advantage. We always asked about an empty seat and got one 3 out of 4 flights.
*If your child does well in a car seat, then it might be worth it to lug it to the gate in hopes of an empty seat. We tried this the second time around and would probably do it again.
*Lots of snacks, milk, new toys, and new books. We tried the DVD player on the way home, but Alex isn’t quite old enough to be interested.
*Sitting in bulkhead seats was great. Alex had floor room to get down and play.

Granny and Alex spent the morning together while Wade and I did some shopping. We picked Jerry up for dinner and enjoyed a last seafood meal. Then it was time to say good-bye to Granny and Pop after a great week:

Yesterday our destination at Mount Baker had been a waterfall. After getting back in the car we decided to drive to the top. Then we realized we were low on fuel and had to turn around. Wade hated to get so close and not see the top. Granny and Pop agreed to watch Alex for the morning so we could get to the top of Mount Baker. We arrived about 8:30 am so there was still a lot of fog, but the views were still amazing. (I was excited about the little snow we saw and ready for winter in Milwaukee.)

We got back to the beach house and had to load everything up for our return trip to Seattle. We took a short side trip to Larabee State Park to see the cool rock formations at the beach.

The day started with a walk on a local path. First up we have three generations of Burch men. Then Alex tries to smell a flower and instead rubs it on his cheek. Lastly, Alex learns to ride on shoulders.

We spent the rest of the time before nap playing on the beach. Granny and Pop were happy to supervise:

Then we drove to North Cascades National Park, specifically Mount Baker.

Welcome to the world Maggie!

Our big adventure of the day was a hike at Whatcom Falls Park.

Alex did really well exploring until he took a little fall into a bush. Then he wanted to be carried.

The park also had a playground and Alex headed straight for it after our walk.

We drove back through Fairhaven for a cupcake snack and to pick up pizza for dinner.

The night ended with s’mores on the beach. I love vacation.

Today we have typical Washington weather – wet and dreary. We spent the morning around the rental house:

We drove to Fairhaven for lunch and a little shopping. Alex loved the bookstore and toystore:

And what day is complete without a little silliness?