Busy Weekend with Uncle Don and Auntie Katie

Mike’s sister and her husband came for a visit before Katie had to attend some work meetings in Dallas.  They came in Thursday night late and Friday morning we were up and hitting the ground running.  Mike had to work so Friday morning the kids and I took them over to Fort Worth.When we got to the Stockyards we went into the petting farm area.  The kids were able to feed a bunch of different farm and exotic animals.  Then we went over to watch the long horns and the “cattle drive.”  When the cows were done Elin had a tiny meltdown complete with flopping over onto the sidewalk, crocodile tears and a very unhappy little girl.  The cows being all done was a little too much for her to handle!  Thankfully there were other things to distract her and after riding a few mechanical horses both she and Thomas were happy little “cowkids.”  We then grabbed lunch before heading back to the homestead.  Once home we regrouped, took a walk to the park and then met Mike for some Tex-Mex for dinner.  Saturday started off gloomy and a bit chilly, by Texas standards, so we decided an indoor activity would be best.  We headed to the George W. Bush Library and Museum to check it out.  The history in that place was from a presidency we adults big kids remember.  It was a nice library/museum and a few of the historic highlights for me was seeing some of the iron beams from the Twin Towers, the replicated Oval Office, the declassified paper that allowed the start of the war in Afghanistan and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. I am sure this is all because I can remember so vividly when all of these moments in history happened.  Walking into the 9/11 area was emotionally overwhelming.  The thousands of names of the lives that were lost on that day, the number of lives changed in an instant, and a country/world that would never be the same again, so humbling and overwhelming.  It took my breath away and had me blinking back tears as Mike and I tried to explain it in as simple of terms as possible to Thomas.  A day that a almost 4 year old, two thirty something year old, cannot even attempt to fully understand.  After moving through the 9/11 portion of the museum we waited in a long line to enter the replica of the Oval Office.  After seeing that we strolled through the rest of the museum before heading back home. Saturday night we went to Medieval Times and surprisingly all most of us had a pretty good time.  The kiddos loved it, Elin loved the horses and was clapping and cheering everytime they came out.  Thomas was quiet and watched intently wondering about the knights and if they were ok when they were fighting.  Both of my boys got swords to fight one another with once home.  The food was ok, there was a lot of it and Thomas was a little thrown off by what the server was calling the food.  As he delivered the potato, a dragon egg, the rib-a dragon toe, and the chicken-a falcon, T was like “can we eat this.”  He happily chowed down once I told him it was just pretending and being silly.  As corny as it was, it was a fun experience, and the best part our red knight won!  So at the end he presented a lucky girl in the audience something and when he was walking back to his horse he gave Thomas a “high five!” On Sunday we headed downtown.  We drove by Dealey Plaza so that Don and Katie could see where JFK was assassinated.  We then headed to Klyde Warren Park to explore the “city park” and have lunch at the food trucks.   The park was a little different than we expected but non the less it was a good way to spend a nice day outside.  Sunday night we made dinner at home and relaxed.  Don and Katie were off on Monday morning and it was back to work for Mike and I.  It was a busy, fun, weekend with company in town.

Spring at the Dallas Arboretum

We enjoyed a 80 degree day and headed down to check out the spring bulbs at the Dallas Arboretum.  For a Saturday it was not busy at all and the kids, Mike and I too, had a blast exploring the Children’s Garden.   After we worked up an appetite we grabbed some lunch before touring the regular arboretum for a little bit and then heading home.  It was a wonderful morning and I can’t wait to go back and see how it changes as different things bloom and with the seasons. 

Elin 22 Months

So quickly our little baby has growing up into a walking, talking and quite opinionated little girl.  She is absolutely fearless, minus “guys” and coyotes, hi-wenas (hyenas), and crocagators.  Her heart is as sweet as they come but she has a look in her eyes that means trouble is coming. 

I often joke that she is 22 months going on 4 or 15 years old.  She is a feisty little girl who really has a lot of her own ideas about how things should be.  She is also as independent as can be and more often than not we are told “no help, Elin do it myself.”  This means that things like climbing on the toilet, getting into the car, and getting dressed have all become multiple minute processes as she learns to do them quicker and quicker herself. 

She is still out of diapers during the day and has almost completely dropped them during nap time.  She is now requesting no diaper at night, and taking off her diaper in the middle of the night by herself.   Which has yet to lead in a wet bed, but has had us up a time or two to go potty. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elin is currently loving most foods with her favorites being: chicken, steak, brown rice, citrus fruits, oatmeal, watermelon, frozen peas, and broccoli.  Thankfully she has stopped dumping and throwing her food and drinks at dinner time and that has made eating a much cleaner event.  She is drinking out of an open cup and using her fork and spoon very well.  She however sometimes finds that her hand with a fork/spoon is a lot quicker way to get more food into her mouth.  She is still nursing morning, nap, bedtime and 1 time in the early morning.   In a similar area she is still taking a long afternoon nap anywhere from 2-3 hours and then goes to sleep usually between 7:30/8:30 and wakes up about 7 a.m. give or take a half hour. 

 

She loves riding her giraffe and hanging on everything like a monkey.  She is a running, climbing fool and just like her brother her energy and athleticism amazes Mike and I daily.  Her language development is outstanding and constantly has me in awe.  She will imitate everything including long sentences, she can make up her own long grammatically correct (but not always perfect) sentences and is able to communicate her wants and needs. 

Her favorites at the moment are: her purple hat, green frog rain boots, being naked, riding her giraffe, baths/showers/swimming/water of any kind, swinging, hanging with Thomas, paw patrol (show), horses/cows/dogs/any animal really, and putting her babies to sleep.  She also having her hoods up on everything which kind of tames her crazy hair do.  She is still not totally into wearing hair ties or hair “pretties” but it is getting better.  She is working on getting her last 2 year old molar and then she will have all of her primary “baby” teeth in. 

It is hard to believe that in 2 short months we will be celebrating her 2nd birthday.  It seems like yesterday that she was born, then like she has already been here and part of our family forever. 

Smorgus Board of Our Life

Elin singing her ABC’s

Perot Museum

The kids and I were joined by Ms. Debbie for a morning at the Perot Museum.  I had heard great things about the museum and was not disappointed.  The kids got to see real dinosaur bones, explore the bird area, the sports lab, the human body lab and the children’s museum before it was time for lunch and heading home.   There was a world of learning in that building and I too got to see and experience things I have never had the chance to yet…like the bones of a woolly mammoth. 

In the sports lab the kids got to throw a ball and shoot a ball in the slow motion lab.  I then was able to put Thomas side by side with Joe Nieuwendyk, I was pretty impressed with how similar my almost 4 year old looked next to the pro!

Thomas Giving for the Animals

We stopped at the pet store for some kitty food. While there Thomas and Elin love seeing the animals for sale and adoption. Today there were 3 cats inside waiting for their forever homes. After we ...said hi and walked away Thomas asked me for his wallet. He ran back and said I'm going to help them. The last few weeks he has been into collecting coins (not dollars) and having his wallet with him at all times. Today he put all his money in for the homeless animals and couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear, as he said "now all the animals will have enough money for homes." His innocence and desire to give and help made us so proud. 

Daddy’s Away…Mommy and the Kiddos Play

While Mike was gone for 4.5 days/5 nights we kept ourselves pretty busy so we didn’t miss him too much.  On Thursday we were at the Dallas World Aquarium, then we came home and played outside as it was gorgeous and 70 degrees. 

On Friday we spent the morning around the house and went for a walk to the park.  After naps on Friday we were joined by Anna and her boy’s for a outside play date.  It quickly turned into a adventure as the back door locked (thank you big brothers) the 18 month old inside.  After scrambling to check all windows and doors his Mama called the fire department.  They arrived quickly and in a few seconds had the door unlocked and all was well.  It was a scary situation that turned out very well all things considered. 

On Saturday I ventured with the 2 littles to the dollar store.  I had seen a few ideas on Pinterest and I wanted to get the materials to try them out.  Sidewalk chalk painting was a huge hit!  Saturday night we had a pizza and a movie night and on Sunday we made a few art projects.  Then it was time to head to the airport and get Mike/Daddy!  Phew…it was a long few days but we survived and so did he (never know when they are away on a boys trip!)

Mike In Denver/Crested Butte for Pat’s Bachelor Party

Mike joined a group of guys for a weekend of celebrating, beer/booze, skiing and fun in Crested Butte for his brother’s bachelor party.  I have heard a few stories…and they are not blogable, but I will say it sounds like they had a great time! 

Dallas World Aquarium

 

The kiddos and I set out to go to the Perot Museum on Thursday morning with an old family friend of the Laschen’s, Mrs. Debbie.  Upon our arrival there were school field trips galore and we quickly revamped our plan and headed over to the Dallas World Aquarium.  It was a lot of fun to see it again when the animals were not so cold!   It is a really neat place and a must see if your in Dallas with kiddos. Thomas’ highlight was feeding the birds blueberries and Elin’s highlight was “a lot of big fish.”  After we saw all the animals, fish, and birds we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed home.  We made plans to meet again on Monday for a redo of the museum as there are “no field trips on Monday’s.”