Kid Updates

Ally

Ally is nearly 3 1/2.  Crazy!  I just realized tonight this means that she is getting close to "almost 4."  She talks a LOT.  Loves to sing.  Loves to have stories read to her.  We're reading a chapter book now, The Enchanted Tree by Enid Blyton.  I love this series.  She is really into modeling clay right now.  She also loves to watch me put on makeup and likes to play with my brushes.

Nuhnuts - Nuggets.  Chicken Nuggets.
Old Dahdolds - McDonald's.
"Mama, you have to be nice" - said when she gets in trouble or I get short with her.
E-weven - for some reason she's got this weird accent when she says eleven, and it cracks me up.
Chewable - she's graduated to chewable tylenol, and calls it a "chewable."  Though, she still calls medicine "mednum."

Jacob

Jacob is 18 months old.  He seems so much younger than Ally did at this age!  Maybe it's because I was 6 months pregnanty with Jacob when she was 18 months.  He went to nursery for the first time last week - and it was a catastrophic failure.  I don't think that either of us have had to come get Ally once (other than to change a diaper or take her potty).  We'll try again next week.  He loves to throw things into the trash.  Even if they aren't trash.  If anything is missing, that is the first place we look.

No - he finally says it intentionally, at the "right" times....and is usually shaking his head .emphatically too.
Bath - we can't say this word around him unless we are serious with following through.  He immediately runs to the bathroom and tries to climb in the tub.
Wawa - water, and usually in reference to the baby pool in the yard.  If he sees it when we come in from the car to the house, he cries like his little heart is breaking.
Flies - fries, of the "french" variety.
Nap - if he's feeling tired, he'll run to his crib and try to pull out his little blankie and dodo from inside.
Bye-byeeee - He's said this one for a while, but now he gets impatient if he is saying "bye-bye" and we aren't leaving (for example, if I'm finishing a conversation).
Bapple - apple.
Onge - orange. 
Menmen.  Medicine.  Scary that he knows that one so well, and asks for it.
Benbay - pancake.  He loves him some pancakes.
Beckba - breakfast.  Favorite meal of the day, I think.  Other than "sna!" of course.
Mil - milk.
Ju - juice.

The other day Ernest got Jacob ready in the morning.  Apparently they had a sticker war.  Jane declared Ernest the winner because Jacob still looked like this when I picked him up after work.  Silly boy. 

Puppa!

The first time Jacob put on these pajamas he got quite excited, saying "puppa!" (puppy) over and over again as he pointed to each puppy.  That's my boy!

Flashback Friday: Our Favorite Places

Together: 
Manitou Springs.  Favorite date spot in Colorado. 

Cripple Creek

Xcaret.  Awesome time here on our 2nd anniversary.

Branson.  First anniversary.  So want to go back!!

Georgetown.  Another stop on the cruise we took for our 2nd anniversary.  This town is a fun mix of Caribbean and European.

Crown Center.  Fun to wander.  Stayed at the Westin for our 5th anniversary.

Fritz's.  Great for the kids.

The Coal Mine Dragon.  Our first official date, and great food.

Mr. Bigg's.  Lots of subsequent dates in Colorado.  Many hours spent playing mini-golf and trying for the elusive hole-in-one.

Parkville
I have a couple of blog posts about Parkville, one of which is here. 

Shannon:
La Jolla.  Love love love these bluffs, beach, and waves.

Avesbury Plain.  So so green, and a little creepy, in a cool way.

Coronado.  The whole island is great, but I especially want to make a return trip to the Hotel del Coronado and it's beach!


Ernest:
I asked him what some of his favorites were.  His response - "Well, anywhere with you, I guess."  Sweet man. 

Colorado Visits Kansas!

Ernest's sister, Ricki, her husband Donn, and their 5 year old Ian, all came to visit us for a few days.  It had been a couple of years since they saw Ally in person and they hadn't met Jacob yet.  We had been telling Ally about their visit for a few weeks, and she kept talking about "My boyfriend, Ian."  We finally got it through her head that he is her cousin, but I'm sure we'll tease her about it later. 

Wonderscope
I've lived in the Kansas City area for most of my life and had never been to Wonderscope.  We went over on Saturday with Ricki, Donn, Ian, Ernest, Ally, Jacob, and myself.  It was pretty fun.  Jacob had the best time playing in the Small Wonders room (2 years and under only, and it was decently padded).  He also had a pretty good time playing in the H2O room and Art Room.  Ally liked all of it, I think.  The pictures do a decent job, I think, of showing...

 Hi Mama!

 Drawing on walls with chalk.

 Face painting with Dada!

 Trying SO HARD to reach the water.

 Aunt Ricki keeping a hand on Ally.  I think she would have tried swimming if she had half a chance.  Ally, not Ricki.

 Jacob was SOAKED.

 This cool little guy had air blowing through the tunnels that you could redirect by changing a couple of flaps.  You put in the scarves, and watched them zip through different paths until they shot out at you again.  Ian is trying to catch the green one as it goes by.

 The dads went up the slide the wrong way too. 

Inside a Lego submarine.

Date Night!  Dinner and pool.



 Legoland

 The following are parts of Kansas City made from Legos.  So cool to see.

 The Duplo blocks - Jacob's favorite (Dada's too, I think)

 One of the best things about Legoland, in my opinion, were all of the picture props!

Ally missed her nap this day, so was pretty cranky by mid-afternoon. There was a giant running/climbing/play area for kids only.  She wouldn't come out.  Ernest had to go in after her.  She got strapped in with Jacob for a bit after that. 

So, Legoland.  Pretty fun, a lot to do.  Way too crowded, especially for my little ones.  I also think it is over-priced by about $5 a ticket.  I would go again if tickets were cheaper.

Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice

This was also at Crown Center.  Way cool.  First, it was free.  Second, the kids had free reign.  Seriously.

They really enjoyed it.  There was a little slide just perfect for Jacob to climb up himself and then slide down the other side (big kids enjoyed it too).  Dinosaurs to climb all over.  Dinosaur eggs to play with.  You could make crayon etchings.  A mossy bridge thing to bounce on and climb over/under.  And small enough that the kids could just run.  Awesome.

Ally had a great time with Ian.  I don't think he was used to having a little tag-along, which is exactly what Ally was to him.  It was cute to watch.  She cried when they had to leave, and keeps talking about when she gets to see "Cousin Ian" again - we finally got over the "boyfriend" part.  Ernest and I had a great time with Ricki & Donn.  Definitely one of the things I miss about Colorado is being near them.  Our date night was a lot of fun.  I can't wait to have a new niece.  Just another reason to go visit :)

Into the Journey

After having zero motivation for trying to lose weight and exercise again, I have started it up.  I've been praying a LOT about it, and with the Lord's help, have managed to mostly stick to my healthy diet since the middle of May, and follow a structured exercise schedule (6 days a week) for all of June.  Part of the answers I was inspired with include my new FitBit (love this thing and was totally worth the cost), and my friend Lori (she's got me started on Jillian Michael's Body Revolution).  So, since the middle of May, (May 13 to be exact) I have now lost 20 lbs and greatly increased my strength and stamina.  Only a little way into where I want to get, but a great start, and I am still motivated!  Hooray.  Here's a pic from a couple of weeks ago, with my lovely daughter.

A couple of fun things...  Ally likes to exercise with me, whether it's going for a walk, a jog, or doing one of the exercise videos.  If I start to get lazy (Circuit 3 of the Cardio video KILLS me) she is quick to remind me, "No, Mama!  Your arms have to be UP!" or whatever my transgression is.  Jacob loves when I do pushups or situps.  If I'm doing pushups he runs over and lays down on his back under my shoulders/head and giggles every time I come down.  I usually end up giving him nuzzles and kisses when I'm down and then pushing up.  When I do situps, he again runs over, and then tries to sit on my head.  I'll reposition him to my abdomen and try to keep him there while doing the crunches.  He likes to try and migrate closer to my head so I can give him kisses there too.  Crazy kid.  He was "lifting" one of my little 2 lb weights the other day on the couch.  I was using my 5 lb weights on the floor.  Little Man has been into throwing lately, and that's what he did with the weight.  It wacked me on the side of the head.  Oh, it hurt.  I yelled a bit and sat up, and his little face just crumpled.  I felt bad so tried to calm down and give him some cuddles - while moving the weights out of his reach.  My jaw is still sore if I open it wide.  Boy will have an arm!