Thanks Annie!

We gotta get your Dad here

Your Dad has made plans two time to try to take you to Como Zoo. Why? He's missed out on a couple of opportunities and hasn't been there yet this summer.  I was able to take you on one of my Wednesdays off a few weeks ago. And although we were in and out in less than 3 hours (lunch included!) I think a good time was had by all.  I think it started out well - there were actually seals (plural) in the round outdoor pool!

This area (and the stinky monkey house of course) are what I remember of Como. Well and the mini train and the huge snake. And the fire engine (?) classmate Shannon fell off and broke his arm on. Ok, I remember lots of things, but I remember the seal area fondly. oh yeah, and the stinky fish you could feed them that even at the time seemed gruesome. Chunks of flesh. Ick. I don't know if that memory is correct, but that's what I remember. At ANY rate...

It was a good day to be at the zoo.

And you even talked your Grandma Jane into bringing you here 2 days later (!). As Dad said "Grandma is getting bold". Good for her. It is actually a bit easier to take you out. Sometimes. Except for last night when we took you to Lowe's to look at flooring and you (Zoe) freaked out at the entrance because there was a HUGE inflatable pirate display (Halloween is just around the corner?!) and INSISTED on being held the entire time. Roman followed suit. Just gotta say you guys are getting too darn heavy for that. But then again in my reflective moments (i.e. when I'm not holding you for half an hour) I realize that those days are going to go away too and I better well enjoy them. Dang tootin'.

Every little thing gonna be all right

As I cuddled with the fidgety Roman and got him back to sleep,  I thought of dinner time tonight. "I want to sit by Mom". That makes my day.

Not going to focus on the persistent "carry me up" (you guys are getting HEAVY) or away-from-home-at-naptime meltdowns...No, I'll think about how sitting next to me makes you happy. I know it's not a forever thing.

But man, oh man, I love you both soooo much. A few weeks ago Grandma C brought over some birdies. I should have had a clue when I came home that night and you two were making nests in the living room with blankets and pretending to be birds.

Rob and Jay (so knighted by your Father)

Sittin' in a tree 

Nice birdie.

After this I couldn't get "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley out of my head. Grandma C had said there had been a Cardinal, but her store was out. So among our Saturday chores was to see if the local version of her store had one left in their clearance pile. They did. And now I can sing it for real...

Rise up this mornin',

Smiled with the risin' sun,

Three little birds

Pitch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true,

Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,

'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.

Tell tale signs of...

Mick-eh Mouse!

I have no idea when you two got so excited about Mickey Mouse, but you certainly have. We've got one dvd with a couple of Mickey Mouse cartoons, but based on your reaction to them, your initial contact came from somewhere else. The reaction to the Disney castle I understand - it's at the beginning of all your Disney dvds (Cars, Toy Story, the Tinkerbells...). But the mouse. Huh. We don't have cable or satellite, so no Disney channel (and I think we'll be grateful for that!).
At any rate. Your lucky mama won us some tickets for the Abracadabra Disney Live Mickey Mouse magic show at the Xcel a week or so ago. And if you're in the Twin Cities and want a good chance to win some stuff, I'd suggest following gustgab.com!

When we got there we discovered out seats were row 10 on the floor. Wow. Pre-show we got this picture (note the kids glued to the Mickey Mouse ears on the curtain).

And an appearance by the Mouse. Very well received by this crowd.

 And Belle from Beauty and the Beast (which I saw for the first time not too long ago - good movie!) and Minnie Mouse.

Not until we got home and looked at the pictures (almost all taken by your Dad) did I realize that the characters were capable of blinking. Who'd have thought this would be an issue. Although my camera has some fancy feature to avoid taking a picture with closed eyes. Don't ask me how. Or ask me to set it up to do that. At any rate, I had to laugh when picture after picture had a Mickey, a Minnie of a Goofy with eyelids shut. Not something you expect.  Although Donald Duck, clearly spoken by both of you at this point and seen below, "meant to do that" as Pee Wee Herman would say.

Bashful. Roman has this coquettish gene.

 There were two magicians as well. My impression. Disney does over the top. Disney Live does over over the top. I think I learned this at age 12 when we went to visit Disneyworld. I was stuck, even at that age, how showy the performers were. And I could imagine sitting in a theater in Disneyworld experiencing this with you when you are older. Wide eyed and mesmerized.
You did pretty well, except when Roman decided to do his climbing routine (much like our movie expedition). Off the chair, climb up the chair. Off the chair, flip up the folding chair, flip down the folding chair, climb up the chair. Off the chair....pinch Zoe's leg in chair. Not good.
So we had a little separate time for awhile. Daddy got to go get a refreshment for us. Which, Zoe confiscated for the family picture. Good move, Zo. When mom and dad are distracted and trying to get you to look at the camera, go to town with the forgotten lemonade.

more from the Saints game

After trying to "control" you two in a stadium (small, yes, but still a public place) it was nice to sit on the grass and let you run around a bit.

Even if it did invovle the "I push you down" game.

Fun as Miss Kitty's

Kitty was nice enough to have us over for a play date with her niece Frances, aka Frankie.



It took a few minutes to acclimate(doesn't it always), but they started to have fun.



I mean with a hammock and Kitty to help swing it, who wouldn't?



It was such a nice day, sitting in the grass (in the shade!).



Or maybe it was because they kids were entertained. By Frankie's mom Becca,



by Kitty and...





Who's that I spy?



Frankie's older brother Jack perhaps?



Yes! Playing a little hide and go seek (which they've taught Frankie - it's adorable when she covers her eyes and counts). Jack was a big help with the twins that day. Thanks Jack!





And thanks Kitty for having us over, it was a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday daddy (+2 weeks!)

Our last day in Chicago was spend hanging out at Grandpa Mike and Pam's house. Amanda was back from her out of town game and Great Grandma Lawrida was there too!



Oh and Ozzie. We must not forget the "puppy". (and Grandpa Mike said "I know what I can get them for Christmas...." NO! NO! He was joking. Wasn't he?! Yes. Yes....)

So we visited, played with dog, watched your Uncle Jared's favorite movie when he was little (Toy Story!).....Grandpa lit some candles on Daddy's cake. Woo hoo.



Yeah, we were worried we might have to get a permit for all those candles (I'm one to talk!)...



Ah yes, this was just after Zoe went nutso. You two didn't really nap for 2 or 3 days. This is NOT good. I spent time just before this trying to get you to nap. Zoe kept asking for her blankie (in her hand) and grabbing my hand to take me somewhere. But she'd get frustrated. I tried to lay down with her in Jared and Amanda's room, but that just made it worse. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _SO_ tired. So, so tired and little vocabulary and actions to communicate this. Oh, I felt so bad, but felt totally helpless. It's amazing how much you two have learned. And I'm amazed at how much you CAN do now. Little sponges (which means we better watch it!)



But a cuddle from Daddy helped. And a helping of cake (SUGAR!) made you forget it for awhile.



Meanwhile, Barb and Roman were admiring the outfits they'd coordinated for the day. :)

Thanks Uncle Dan!

A couple of weeks ago your uncle Dan left a message on our home answering maching (Yes, I understand I'll probably have to explain what this was...). He offered help with any gardening/yard/landscaping work ("I need a project").
Mama's not one to let that one pass by. So he came over one afternoon to do a walk thru of the yard. Your dad is the main gardener and has a good eye for plants. So does your uncle Dan. Your dad showed him some pictures of trees we admired on one of our walks in Chicago and Dan identified the tree (Eastern Redbud).

Not one week later he showed up with 3 of them! He found them on clearance at Lowe's and stopped by to put them in the ground. Wow!



For the first time this year the kids spend a good 5 minutes in the yard NOT touching the dirt. They have a warm up period of shyness. Brief. Temporary. Zoe's giving the gardener and the dirt some space.
See?



Of course then they meandered to another area of the yard. They like to pick these flowers. Zoe was pulling petals a la "he loves me, he loves me not..." (good practice for an upcoming flowergirl ;)




But as soon as that hose came out, Uncle Dan had two new helpers. Oh good. Water and dirt make mud.



It's funny how it was so cute the first time around. Now there isn't a time that goes by that one (usually both) aren't digging in the dirt.



And mama must remember that YES it is fun (and only take them out if they're going in the pool, thru the sprinkler or straight into the bath).