Life Goes On

Well, no big events or milestones to report.  I guess we've just been busy doing those routine things of life.  But those simple days are usually my favorites so I'd better write down and remember some that good stuff too.

In the words of Grandma Deb, we've been declaring Chloie "advanced" a lot lately.  She's just been able to start showing us lots of things she knows with her actions and words.  She'll point to and say all her facial features.... well, that's kind of a stretch, but don't most moms do that???.... she'll say eyes and ears and point to the rest, anyway.  My favorite is how she squints up her little eyes and her mouth makes the widest smile when you ask her about her eyes.  It's like closing her eyes is attached to that adorable, toothy smile.  The other day she was sick of whatever I had given her for lunch, reached for her bib and declared, "Momma, done!" 

Owen has an ever-growing love for his sister.  He woke up from his nap yesterday a little crabby so we were snuggling when he says, "I need my Bell, Bell," which is what we call Chloie.  And then taking his bath last night it was past Chloie's bedtime so I gave her a quick wash and got her out.  But Owen protested, "Chloie needs to stay in!  She's my friend in the tub!"

And if things ever get too serious, there's not much some tunes can't fix at our house.  I have two of the best booty shakers around.  They've really gotten some great moves from their parents.

San Diego Vacation

Well, the kids loved the beach, but we're not eager to take off on another trip anytime soon. We had so much fun when the kids were rested, but the traveling left them unusually cranky. Our times spent at the beach were by far the most enjoyable parts of our trip. I only got my camera out a couple of times because... well, I guess just because I was lazy and quit carrying it around.

The kids were super excited to play on the beach. 

Oops, there comes the water!  I guess that's why people wear bathing suits to the beach...

Owen excited.  Chloie distracted.  Hard to get a good picture.

Hmmm... I saw that face a lot on this trip.  Were you tired here?  Or maybe you didn't like the sand on your eye lashes and nose?  Or perhaps too many pictures, little Chloie?

Oh, but I like this face so much better!  She just realized her toes were covered in sand, and she thought that was a hoot!

Owen decided the huge pile of seaweed needed to be climbed!  He was so proud of his accomplishment.

Let's catch the waves!

And one little picture from Sea World. 

Owen's Whale Bird and Sticker Chart

Thanks to the Little Kids National Geographic magazine Grandma and Grandpa Meyer send Owen, we had been taking about whales this week.  I realized though I hadn't thoroughly explained the large fish when we were swimming yesterday.  Owen started frantically waving his hands at some birds resting on our fence and in hushed excitement said, "Look, Mom, whale birds!" 
"Whale birds?  What's a whale bird, Owen?"  I asked.
He looked at me with the "you're the dumbest person ever" expression and replied, "A really big bird."

Owen had been having lots of trouble staying dry at night all of sudden.  Sick of doing laundry, I thought I'd give a sticker chart a try.  I know sticker charts are popular, stupid I thought, but many people use them so what do I have to lose except stinky laundry?  I wasn't prepared for the amount of ambition a silly sticker chart would give a little boy.  Each and every morning he woke up dry to earn that sticker and ultimately his "special prize."  He decided about halfway through the chart he wanted a backhoe loader from the "Red Store" (Target).  He was so cute looking at all the toys.  He and Chloie played and played, and I thought for sure he would change his mind and ask for something different.  But he found his little set of digger toys (only 5.99 too!), and was ecstatic about it.  He kept looking and getting so excited about all the other toys, I was sure a fit was going to ensue when it was time to go.  Finally, the fateful "it's time to go" started, and to my utmost surprise all Owen said was, "Thanks, Mom, for this nice prize!"  What an amazing little sticker chart!

Wake Up!

Each morning I stumble to the kitchen to get the coffee going.  Eyes not quite open, and body not quite awake.  Well, I woke up in a hurry earlier this week when in the midst of my coffee grinding, one of our built in glass shelves spontaneously shattered.  I no longer needed the coffee to wake up.  I then spontaneously burst into tears I was so frightened.  Thankfully, it was the perfect time of day for such an event.  Had Matt and I still been asleep, we would have definitely thought someone had just broken into our house, and had the kids been awake it is most likely one of them would have been playing right in the way of the million pieces of glass and flying picture frames that came down. 

The mess was mostly cleaned up when Owen woke up, but I still had some picture frames and knickknacks sitting on the ottoman.  If you know me, you know I hate most knickknacks... now I do have a few that were given to me by special people in special situations that I really love... but on the whole I like my shelves clean.  So when Owen woke up and walked into the living room exclaiming, "Oh, holy gosh!  What is all this junk?"  I had to laugh because that's exactly what I had called all that stuff just moments earlier.

And just for fun... who doesn't love a good popsicle break?

Happy Father's Day

While Father's Day certainly isn't the only time I stop to think about the great fathers I know in my life, it is certainly a fitting time to stop and write my thoughts down and think about them a little more. 

First of all I have to think on my own Dad.  He's taught me much about working hard, but having fun while doing it.  I suppose my exuberance... a nice way of putting it... comes straight from Dad.  Of course, growing up Dad's exuberance bordered on annoying in my book.  I'm pretty sure my kids will be saying the same about me, and I'll feel nothing but proud to know it exactly where those traits came from.  I love to point out things while we're driving, giving history lessons and quizzing the kids, just like my Dad.  I'm grateful for the life lessons he's passed on to me, and I'm sure my kids will benefit from them too.  Thanks Dad for keeping my childhood entertaining, but hard so that I could appreciate all the goodness there is to life in the simple ways.

Of course the other special father in my life is the father of my children.  I certainly never knew what kind of dad Matt would be, but he has turned out to be nothing less than amazing.  He amazes me that he can work all day and come home smiling with hugs and kisses for every one of us, every single day.  I'd never know if he had a bad day until I asked him about his day.  His love for his children and me really is more than I have words to tell.  It is obvious he is loved much in return.  Owen and Chloie adore their Daddy, and it melts my heart to watch them all together.  Raising kids is tough work, but I am tremendously blessed to get to do it alongside Matt.

And now some pictures of our special day with Dad.

Mom and Chloie are ready for the game!  Ok, so this picture doesn't have much to do with Father's Day except I thought Chloie's outfit was cute, and I was actually in a picture....

Owen kept telling everyone when to clap.  Chloie wasn't clapping enough for Owen at the beginning so he "taught" her when to clap.  Soon she was a clapping machine.  One hint of a clap from the stands, and she was right there with them.

The kids did great.  We sat in the stands for two hours, which went by so quickly.  Either the kids were super good or the giant Blue Moon made everyone seem super good.

Dad and kids look for the play area.

Owen and Dad got to run the bases after the game.  Chloie would have loved to do it too, but she was sacked out in my arms by this time.  We had to wait awhile to go, and the kids were getting restless.  I kept insisting we needed to just leave, but the boys really wanted to run the bases.  We stayed, and they were both glad we did.  Owen and Dad played baseball in the backyard all evening when we got home.  A fun family to trip!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Both of the kids are great at impersonating me or Matt or each other or really any other thing they see or hear.  I suppose that's not so unusual since that is exactly how children learn, but still it makes me laugh when I see Owen waddle after Chloie just to be like her or when Owen pretends to fall down the stairs and shouts, "Mom, run and get me, I fell!"  Or how Chloie will snatch up any piece of unclaimed clothing and carry it to the washing machine.  They're a real hoot all day long.

Owen's farmer blood continues to pulse through him.  Every Sunday on our way to church we pass a lovely field of corn, and every Sunday Owen asks, "Dad, can we buy that farm today?"  It's only this one particular field he loves so much with it's pretty green stalks.  Unfortunately, each Sunday Daddy answers, "No son, not today."  This past Sunday Owen really wanted to buy that farm so he continued.  "But Daddy, I'd love it."  Oh, how Daddy would love it too, Owen...

As I mentioned, Chloie loves carrying around clothes, but her first love is shoes.  If I can't find her, it's a pretty safe bet she's playing in the shoe basket.  It's pretty cute to watch her run for my shoes as soon as I take them off.  It's pretty cute until you're at a public play place with lots of stinky kid shoes laying around and all Chloie wants to do is touch every shoe and put them on her hands... ew....

I realized this past week how much Owen is really listening to lyrics of music.  We're jamming out to some 90s tunes in the car last week and a song says, "Ow....."  Owen pipes up, "What did they say, Mom?  Ow?" 
So I said, "Um, oh yeah, they said that in the song." 
Owen thinks on that and says, "Did someone step on their foot?"

Chloie Gets Big

What a amazing gift our little Chloie Bell is to us!  Her personality has just burst along with her new skills and sweetness.  And perhaps a little bit of that personality includes some not-so-sweetness.  We'll blame it on teething, but last night I've never seen her so upset.  She was crying hysterically at 12:30 and wanted nothing to do with being held or nursed or put in her bed.  I was so frightened that something was incredibly wrong.  I finally took her kicking and screaming downstairs to see that nobody was up.  I think the dark downstairs scared her because it calmed her enough that she let me hold her and rock her until (I assume) her medicine subdued whatever was paining her.

Luckily, those moments are much rarer than the ones that melt my heart.  I love watching her fold her hands to pray and trying to say, "Amen" with the rest of the family.  She's learned to climb up her little slide and come down backwards... though it gives me a bit of a heart attack.  She started carrying a purse around this week.  She'll fill it with a few things, hike it up her arm and go on an adventure.   

She is so smitten with her daddy nowadays.  We often play in front of the house anxiously awaiting Daddy's homecoming.  As soon as I spot Dad coming down the road, I'll tell Chloie Daddy's home.  She'll run and dance and wave her little arm all the while calling, "Dada, dada."  Then she and Owen will both have to climb in and help back in the car. 

She continues to love animals.  This is her special pet, "dog, dog."  I hope Chloie loves her because this is the most real pet she's going to get for awhile.

And of course she follows after her brother non-stop.  Their a hoot to watch.  In the bathtub, they challenge each other to see who can get the most bubbles on their faces.  The wrestle for cars and trucks.  They make beautiful music on the keyboard together.  They mimic each other's noises and actions... which is not always a good thing. Oh, how they bless me and make me grateful each and every day.  How lucky I am!