We met Amy and Darby (and their kids) for a play date and dinner. Somehow I missed the fact that Kids in Motion gets pizza delivered from Glass Nickel Pizza Co. (one of my favorites).
Dress up time!
Googly eyes. Like father, like son.
After two jewelers and numerous discussions with our insurance company, I have a brand-new ring (with my original diamond). It looks amazing (and didn’t cost me a thing)!
Taking Madison for a walk in the snow.
These guys are a lot of fun, but definitely a lot of work too!
There’s a traffic jam in front of the parking garage!
(We have had a lot of boxes delivered recently and depending on the size Alex immediately wants a boat or a parking garage.)
I finally have a working kitchen again! The part from Delta arrived and my kitchen faucet no longer leaks! Wade also took my dishwasher apart for the third time (poor Wade) and finally found the problem! This small sticker (which doesn’t look at all familiar) was blocking the check valve and causing the small amount of water to not properly drain out of the bottom after a wash cycle.
We managed a little outside play today with Amber and Abram.
We were meeting Amy, Asher, and Abby for dinner tonight. Amy told me her kids were wearing pajamas (Asher had pajama day at school and Abby just had a bath) and so Alex wanted to wear them too. Those silly kids were a mess, but loved the macaroni and cheese at Noodles & Company.
A typical MDO pick-up. Alex is eating a graham cracker with Madison hoping for a dropped bite.
(On a side note – Alex gets tired of snacks very quickly (meaning a few servings). He never wants to finish a bag of goldfish or box of crackers. The exception seems to be graham crackers. I keep a ziploc bag of them in my car and he gets one every day I pick him up from MDO. Of course he doesn’t eat them at home…)
Amy introduced me to “Tour Club” this year. It’s a group of Moms that get together and arrange tours at local businesses. The group is focused on kids aged 3-6 (with younger siblings always welcome). They typically have 10-12 tours a semester and you have to sign up for at least half. We had our first outing today at “Touch of Glaze“. The kids not only got a behind-the-scenes tour, but they got to paint a piece of pottery.
I was in the kitchen making cookies and thought it was too quiet in the living room. I peaked in to see Wade and Alex just like this.
Alex has a great vocabulary and, in my opinion, enunciates very well. However, there are a few oddities that I find hilarious.
Window wipers are “window shipers”
Back up is “beep up”
My favorite question to have him answer is, “Where does Daddy work?”
Dr. Drill and Fill
Today is relatively warm (high 30s) and all of our snow is melting. Alex and I embraced the weather with rain boots!
We ran a few errands and then arrived at Yo Mama for story time. Alex was in rare form and had a great time. He was talking, hugging, and sitting with everybody – especially people we didn’t know.
He and Abby were really cute towards each other. Alex kept trying to hug and hold hands, which Abby wasn’t interested in. Abby kept trying to share her lovies, which Alex wasn’t interested in. Someday they’ll work it out…
No idea, but he’s cute as a button.
My kitchen faucet developed a steady drip last night (more of a constant trickle actually). Wade took it apart and determined the problem. He called Delta and they were great. They immediately agreed the part was under a lifetime warranty and are shipping us one. The bad news is I have to turn on and off my water by the valves under the sink until it arrives. Yuck.
Dressed up in astronaut gear to Skype with Granny and Pop.
Wade and I celebrated his 30th Birthday (see here) by attending a Monster Truck Show. We had a great time and thought this year Alex might be old enough to enjoy it. (Thankfully Wade remembered how loud it was and brought us all earphones.) Alex was mesmerized. I thought at first he was scared, or uninterested, but he assured us he was having a great time.
Monster Truck Jam. We’re pretty sure Alex just went for the popcorn.
Snow was predicted for today and we didn’t have to be anywhere. We decided to build a fire and invite friends over to play. Riley couldn’t come because his sister was sick (To which Alex responded, “Riley should come and his baby should stay home”). Amber, Grant, and Abram came to play. The boys had a lot of fun and Amber and I got to sit and talk – pretty much a great, relaxing morning.
Learning to play Memory.
Wade gave me one of my favorite Christmas gifts, and it wasn’t even on my list! He gave me a new camera strap – the Black Rapid RS WS-1. I had no idea something like this existed or I would have asked for it years ago. I wear my camera a good part of the day (surprise, surprise) – especially if we are out and about. This strap lets the camera rest at your hip and then slides up to a photo-taking position without having to move the strap! Genius! I highly recommend it. It even works over my bulky winter coat without having to change the sizing.
New brushes for the aquadoodle.
Alex has wanted to blow candles out all evening. We finally lit some for him to blow out right before bedtime.
When I wake up every morning (in winter), one of the first things I do is to look out our bedroom window. It looks onto our neighbor’s roof and I am always hoping to see it white with snow (even if snow wasn’t predicted). We’ve finally gotten some snow in the past few weeks and I’ve been seeing this quite a bit!
Today was Wade’s birthday so we celebrated with our traditional birthday muffins.
When Wade walked in after work, Alex took him directly the to the presents. He had been waiting all day for Daddy to open them! (In the end, Alex liked the boxes the best!)
I am always amused that Alex can have this much snow on him and want to continue playing. I would be shivering and begging to go inside.
I take pictures of pretty much everything Alex does. I had no idea they would come in handy when preparing Alex for events. This past summer he had his first teeth cleaning at the dentist (see here). When I mentioned this morning that we were going to see Dr. Rick he was not happy. We talked and talked and he still didn’t want to go. Then I showed him the pictures from last time and he couldn’t wait to get there (Now if only I could claim the previous pictures were taken for this very reason…)
Team Alex.
(Alex wanted his football clothes and his football. Then he told me he was “Team Alex” and started throwing.)
We are enjoying our first “real” snow to the fullest. Amber suggested a short sledding trip between church and nap and we jumped at the chance. We met at Burleigh Elementary and I was impressed with their “hill.” I was curious to see Alex’s reaction. (Right now he’s sometimes hesitant about new things.) Alex hopped into his little red sled, said, “Ready, Set, Go” and flew down the hill. He loved it and couldn’t wait to go again.
Sledding!
(This picture is the only time Alex rode with an adult. He loved his little red sled and would go flying down the hill all by himself.)
I love finding new recipes and my family is great about tasting everything (at least once). I have recently tried a few recipes from Jessica Seinfeld‘s Cookbooks. (She likes to hide pureed veggies and fruits in almost everything). Most of the recipes have not been big hits at our house. Passable, but no desire to repeat.
Today I made the Maple Spice Muffins. I loved them. Alex, who doesn’t eat muffins, ate four mini-muffins. Wade even ate one (He normally skips breakfast).
Maple Spice Muffins
Yields: 12 muffins | Prep: 20 minutes | Bake: 25 minutes
Nonstick cooking spray
¼ cup trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
½ cup pure maple syrup
1 (6 oz) container of low-fat lemon yogurt
½ cup nonfat sour cream
1 large egg
1 large carrot, washed and grated
1 small apple, grated
½ cup raisins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups.
In a large bowl, stir the margarine, maple syrup, yogurt, sour cream, egg, carrot, apple, and raisins, breaking up the margarine with a spoon.
Sprinkle the 2 types of flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, clove, and salt over the margarine mixture. Stir until just combined, but do not over mix – the batter is supposed to be lumpy.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 1 month.
Goodnight.
Today was an awesome snow day – and Alex was back to his normal happy self. The minute he looked out the window he wanted Abram to come play in the snow.
Snow day, take two.
With Wade out of town, Alex and I had arranged dinner with Amy, Abby, and Asher. When snow was forecasted we turned it into a snow play date! Sadly Alex is still a little under the weather. As soon as we got outside he wanted to go back in. Oh well, the rest of us enjoyed it!
Finally! We have snow!
(As you can see in the picture Alex wasn’t as excited as I was.)
Amy invited us for a new adventure today – Swiss Turners Gym. They have preschool open gym several days a week and nothing is off limit to the kids. It’s awesome!!
Guess what we had for breakfast?
This is one of my favorite breakfast treats (and so easy to make)
Sticky Buns:
3/4 cup nuts (I use pecans)
12-16 frozen dinner rolls (I use Rhodes)
1 box butterscotch or vanilla pudding (not instant)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Spray a bundt pan with Pam. Put half of the nuts in the bottom of the pan. Arrange the frozen dinner rolls on top of the nuts (use enough to make a ring in the pan). Sprinkle the box of pudding on top of the rolls. Add the rest of the nuts. Cover with a towel and leave on the counter overnight.
Next morning, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil, stirring constantly. Don’t let the mixture actually boil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
One of Alex’s favorite morning activities is playing in our bed – preferably with all of his loveys!
We call this Mr. Potato Head for the shower.
We have had Madison for 7 years. We were pretty excited when some typical dog behaviors (barking to go outside, scared of storms, drinking from the toilet) didn’t manifest. Then we got Tabit. She meows (loudly) to go outside. She also drinks from the toilet…
Today was Riley’s Birthday Party. Alex is definitely feeling better but not quite 100 percent. I put him down for a really early nap and woke him up just in time for the party. We all had a blast at the Family Tree Haus.
Abram and Alex were very interested in Riley’s Birthday presents.
Daddy has the best toys at work.
Wade is always doing crazy jobs and projects around the house. This weekend he even tackled the dishwasher (which was holding some water after running). The second picture is one of my favorites. I asked Wade to dust the fan blades and that was his chosen method. Hilarious! It would have never occurred to me.
