Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Matthew's New Game

Wow, after almost a week of trying, I finally got this video to work...

Anyway, here is a game that Matthew invented last week. He plays it by himself for about 10 minutes everyday. Now, I might be getting ahead of myself, but I think we've got a pretty good little soccer player here.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Monday Update

Around the House: Thankfully, the yardsale went great! I got rid of tons of stuff and the weather could not have been more perfect. I only had 2 bags of clothes and a few baby odds and ends that went off to Goodwill. Lots more room in the basement now, yeah!

In the Kitchen: Just finished a batch of German Chocolate Cupcakes with Embry. No reason other than I had the box of cake mix in the cupboard and was hungry.

New with Embry: Lots of firsts last week for Embry! First dentist appointment... she did great. I found a very kid friendly dentist in town and we love it. The best part is the gigantic bird cage in the waiting room with step-stools all around it so that kids can get up close to see the birds. First movie at the theater...she loved it. We went to see "Up," which was very cute as most of the Pixar flicks are. I highly recommend it to anyone with kids (or no kids). Embry sat through the entire thing without any troubles and ate an entire bag of popcorn! First pair of flip-flops...hilarious. She has been asking for these for months now, since I wear them all the time, but I have been putting it off in favor of safer and more rugged shoes. I finally gave in when we were at Old Navy the other day. She was so excited, but she cannot walk in them at all. Though, it doesn't stop her from wearing them every chance she gets. I just have to be very patient as she shuffles slowly to the car and through the grocery store. And finally, first time swimming in the big pool at school. Embry's school has a really nice pool that is open to all of the students and families every Friday night. So, last week, we went for the first time and Embry just loved it. I wasn't sure how she was going to behave when we got there because she isn't that fond of getting water anywhere near her head or face. We did spend the first 20 minutes sitting on the steps, but after a while she was jumping in and kicking all around the place. It was great fun and great exercise for me swimming her all around for 2 hours. We loved it, and can't wait for next week!

New with Matthew: Matthew's events this week were not so enjoyable. After 6 months of ear infections we finally went to see a specialist to check his hearing and make sure that he's not sustaining any permanent damage to his ears. All the news was good, though, his hearing is normal. But the exam was not fun at all. A nurse and I had to restrain him while the doctor examined his ears more closely. It always breaks my heart do nothing while your child cries, even if is he was in no pain, he really hated to be held down. But, 5 minutes later he was fine and I was thankful for the lack of short-term memory in toddlers.

I am Thankful For: The good news about Matthew's hearing, and the ever patient big sister who waited with Daddy in the waiting room for over an hour.

The Weather Outside: Well, it has stopped raining for the first time since about 6:30 this morning. Whew! I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the wet season here. At least it keeps the temps down. Cloudy and 70 degrees sure beats sunny and 90! (that comes in a few weeks).

I am (still) Obsessed With: Do I really need to say it? We were without Internet service all weekend long and I almost went crazy. 3 days with no "Lost!" But, I guess it was for the best. As my husband put it, "It was nice catching up with you this weekend!"

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Catch-Up

Ok, so my new obsession with "Lost" has definitely had an impact on my blogging. I mean, with 1 1/2 hours of free time every afternoon, do I watch 2 episodes of Lost or do I clean the house, start dinner, and catch up on my blogging? I try to do the latter at least once a week. The good news is that I only 2 1/2 seasons left. So, a couple more weeks and I can resume my normal life again.

This past weekend was so full of events for our family that I thought I'd just take it day by day. Let's start with last Thursday...it was Embry's last day of school and as promised Grandma R. picked her up. She had a pizza party with watermelon for dessert which was clear from the red ring around her face when she got home. She brought home a folder with all of her recent work in it, and we had a great time going through it together. She is so proud of what she has learned this year.

Later that afternoon Grandma H. and Uncle Nicol arrived. Grandma was here to babysit while N and I went to my brother's high school graduation in Quincy (about 2.5 hours away). As expected, Embry latched onto her uncle as soon as he got here and did not let go. They played all afternoon and all night.




Matthew took a few hours to warm up to them both, but soon he was snuggling with Grandma in the chair.



The next morning we played outside for a while and then N and I were off to Quincy to meet my Dad for an early dinner and then to the graduation. The weather could not have been more perfect to sit on a football field for a couple of hours. The ceremony was pretty short considering the number of graduates (500+)! We drove home and I went to bed REALLY late (for me anyway).


The plan for Saturday morning was to hit the zoo early, but when we woke up it was pouring rain. We did eventually make it to the zoo, just a little later than originally planned, and armed with a few umbrellas. The rain cleared up shortly after we got there, just in time for us to visit (you guessed it!) the stingrays. There was no line this time, due to the weather I'm guessing, and we got to choose the prime spot at the exhibit for petting rays. We also got to feed them! That was interesting. Grandma got a little scared doing it, but Embry had no fear. I was a little grossed out by the cut up fish heads they give you to feed them with, but again, Embry didn't care. She was just so excited to be there again. She's going to be very disappointed when the exhibit moves on.



We can always cheer her up with the butterfly house, which is her second favorite thing to visit at the zoo.


We rode the carousel and the train and then had lunch together.



And before we left Mattie had latched onto Grandpa too...


We were so exhausted when we got home that we ALL took a nap, and then spent a nice relaxing afternoon and evening at home.

On Sunday, we had everyone over for a cookout. We made steak and chicken tacos, with refried black beans and rice, chips and homemade guacamole. And what summer BBQ would be complete without strawberry shortcake, one of my all time favorites. We played video games and Scategories and then Embry went with Daddy to a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. She actually has another birthday party next week. Both J and I agreed that we never thought of kids having parties over the summer, duh.



By Monday morning everyone had left and it was just the kids and me home all week. I am loving the time that Embry is home now, but she definitely is taking some time to adjust. I can tell that she is having a hard time being around her little brother all day long. But we are making adjustments, with plenty of time for her to play quietly alone in her room. And of course any time that we can spend outside makes everyone happy.

Ok, this post is long enough, plus if I'm not careful I may not get to watch Lost at all today! :)