I left Henry with the babysitter today while I took the girls to their swimming lesson because it's 20 minutes each way plus 30 minutes of the lesson that we can't go to the park for (because it's so terribly hot!) and I thought he'd rather not spend more in the car. He wasn't entirely happy with the sitter but I'm going to do it again on Thursday because that will be the girls' last lesson and really, he has more potential for fun at home than in the car!
Sarah must have swallowed too much pool water at the hotel last night because she threw up a few times in the middle of the night. Poor thing! We brought our Holiday Inn Express Ice Bucket (now known as the "Holiday Inn Express Puke Bucket") with us in the car just in case but, luckily, she didn't need it again. Otherwise the ride back was relatively uneventful but we are glad to be back in Texas!
Maeve showing me Hopper the frog.
Checking out Maeve's room.
Helping make the lemonade.
Anna didn't want to sit next to Maeve and Maeve insisted on it.
Craig made his elephant noise that usually at least gets eye contact if not a smile from the kids.
We stopped in Iowa to meet Heather & her family on the way home. Heather & I have been part of an online group that started on Babycenter when we were pregnant with our first children. (I met Sophia in Denver from this same group a few years ago.) Heather made us a really good lunch but we didn't get to stay long (and it was, of course, no where near long enough for either of my girls to warm up to anyone in Heather's family!! Heather's kids are all the same ages as mine. I don't think Sarah & Finn noticed each other but Henry & Oren seemed to think the other kid was pretty cool.
We are staying in the same hotel in Kansas that we stayed in on the way up last week.
Craig took the girls to the Mall of America with Rachel, Mat, Jake, & Sam while Henry & I were at my grandma's.
Then everyone came back to my grandma's until it was time to head out for dinner.
Waiting for our pizzas at Carbone's!
Henry & Chris!!
The kids did really great all day yesterday & today. I was surprised that Sarah actually travels better by car than by plane (I assumed it would be about the same: not very well). Henry did cry for the last hour or more when we hit traffic going through St. Paul, but who can blame him? And at least we were in our own private car and not on a public airplane!
When we stopped in Iowa, Anna asked if we could live there (because it is so much cooler and less humid there than in Texas!!).
The girls mostly colored or played with their My Little Ponies all day. Henry didn't care for any of the toys we tried to hand him but did like snacking and having books read to him or just being conversational. He took several short naps but never anything longer than 45 minutes which is a shame because he really needed it! Craig & I checked out his new iPad and used the map on it to look at traffic on our route which was really cool.
We were all glad to get to Bonnie & Neil's house and settle in. (Bonnie and Neil are way too kind and let us have their bedroom which means Henry gets to sleep in another closet (the last time was at the temporary housing in Texas) which is perfectly dark and quiet.)
We got up early today and hit the road (the girls were so excited they were buckled in the car before I even had Henry ready!). We spent the night in Emporia, Kansas which is right about where Henry decided he was done for the day. We got there just around his bedtime and he fell asleep within minutes of getting in the pack & play while Craig took the girls to the hotel pool to get a little exercise.
The girls are doing really well with their lessons and I've signed them up for a few more while we've got some momentum going.
Henry will be eleven months tomorrow but since we're leaving for Minnesota in the morning I took the bear picture today. I think he is signing "cat" and "drink" now but I don't hear any words yet although he does babble a lot now.
He is a super-fast crawler and getting faster with cruising although he doesn't really want to walk when I try to take his hands and walk with him.
Signed Words: Cat, drink
The girls helped me make home-made pesto with our own fresh basil and then we had the left-over blueberry cobblers from last night for our Tea on Tuesday.
We took the kids to one of the local pools today. Henry liked the baby pool (and the girls liked going down the slide in it) but he tired of the experience faster than I thought he would. The girls had fun swimming (Anna refused to let go of her noodle, Sarah mostly refused to hold it even though she's not quite ready for noodle-less swimming!).
The girls were so thrilled when we saw kid-sized shopping carts at one of the local upscale grocery stores today. I'm just glad that they shared and didn't ask to each get their own.
Today was Anna & Sarah's fourth lesson and they are doing really well but they both need more work so I've signed them up for at least two more next week.
He had breakfast this way to keep his white shirt clean so we started the session this way.
He was so not into sitting still today!
Sarah really wanted to get her portrait taken.
Anna slept until almost nine this morning so she missed out!
She finally woke up!
Sarah is just a goofball.
Anna's mushroom is on the left and Sarah's is on the right. It was a dorky little one-spot kit from Target for a "garden mushroom."
Henry cannot stop pulling up on things and he loves to play at the little kitchen. I need to make him a manly apron... A few weeks ago I pulled out a lot of battery-powered toys in an effort to keep him entertained and in sight when I am preparing food or cleaning up but he spends way more time with this kitchen than the other toys so I'd put them away again but the girls can't stop playing with them.
I feel like we got a whole new kitchen with our counter-depth refrigerator! There is so much space now between the refrigerator and the island it is luxurious.
The girls love the new skirts that Grandma made for them and they are the same size so they can switch and share. (Anna was mad at me for something in the photos so she is mad at me, not not loving the skirts!)
We had a good flight back to Texas today although when we checked in the airline told Craig that they put the kids in exit rows and they didn't have a seat for him and that we should go to the gate to get that worked out. Awesome. In the end Craig got a seat and we all had seats together (not in an exit row). As always, it is good to be home!
More snowflakes coming down today!
Driving to the party. We told the kids (and Anita & Brian) we were taking them to a restaurant and stopping at Corrine's first. Anna tried to get mad at me for lying to her about the surprise party but I guess she understood why I did it.
Henry had a good time with Lindsay at the party. (Thanks, Lindsay!)
Mat was pretending that he was going to take a bite of Sarah's cake (she is territorial about food, like me!) and she started fencing him with her fork.
I don't know if they were surprised or not but at least Corrine & Scott were able to pull off a great party in their garage after the weather ruined the original park plan!
No, it wasn't piles of snow but it was exciting enough (and cold enough) for this group of Texans to enjoy it. (It has been miserable in Texas the past few weeks!)
I think Anna interacted with Opa more on this trip than she ever has before.
The girls wouldn't go sit with the kids unless I went with them.
Henry didn't mind sitting with the grown-ups.
I posted this one because I love Henry in it, sorry Anita!
The big kids were watching Harry Potter. Anna really liked it but it was a little too much for Sarah (she came upstairs partway through and wouldn't leave my side).
Opa & Henry meet at last!
We went up to Colorado to introduce Henry to Opa, to get the kids some more time with Corrine's family before they come down to take care of our kids in July , and to help celebrate Brian & Anita's 40th wedding anniversary. I think it has been long enough since we got on the plane last that we didn't have any dread about the flight. That and we didn't have as many bags, we didn't have any cats, and the flight is just two-and-half hours long.
It is a little weird being in Colorado right now as this is the first time we've been here since we've moved back and the last three years we came we were coming from Qatar or Korea and Colorado has become "America" and we felt the urge to go shopping and see what was new in the world. Then we remembered that when we go "back" we are going back to Texas which is also part of the United States (yes, really, it is!). I wonder how long it will take to reprogram our brains on this?
Anna is on the left and Sarah is in the middle of the pool.
The girls' first swimming lesson was rained-out Tuesday but we made it yesterday and today. I'm not allowed to stay at the lesson (kids don't pay attention to the instructors when their moms are watching!) but I can watch the last few minutes. It seemed to go well in that Sarah didn't freak out that I dropped her off and no one was crying when I picked them up. I can already tell after two half-hour lessons that the girls are going to learn a lot!
The girls were so excited for Courtney & Mackenzie to come today! I think Anna was thrilled with Mackenzie (she is a baby and she's a girl!). Henry actually played with some of "his" toys today if only because Mackenzie was playing with them. I'm sure he won't even glance at them again tomorrow. Mackenzie is just a few weeks younger than Henry so it was fun to see them together and compare notes with Courtney.
Four of my favorite people in the world!
The girls had a great time bowling this afternoon! I don't think Anna realized that the score was being tracked until the very end and by then it was too late. She did all of her own bowling though and Sarah did have help (she was pretty upset when she realized the had the lowest score). Henry thought the bowling alley was interesting and got to get a lot of people-watching in.
Sarah is always coming up with "crazy" outfits. The crazier the better. She had a purse and wand before I took the picture but ditched them when I got the camera out.
An update on what Anna's room looks like.
I got my mom to hang the mirror on the door and hooks on the wall (in the closet) for dress-up stuff.
My camera is a little fogged up from the change in temperature/humidity from the house to outside. I am too impatient to wait for it to de-fog so the pictures have kind of romantic softening to them.
Anna made up a sign for each of our outside doors that reads: "No Robbers. Do not come in."
Sarah & Mat were hard to corral at the end. Sarah was stuffing her cheeks with blueberries on the way out!
We left the house just after 7 to go blueberry picking and it was a really smart decision. The weather was actually cool and not humid so we had a pleasant experience! Rachel helped me with Henry (my carrier was not in my car for some reason?) and he had fun eating halves of blueberries along the way.
We took Rachel's family out for a trolley ride and lunch. Then Rachel & Mat took Jake, Sam, Anna, & Sarah on the water taxi when I went back to the house to meet up with the irrigation people and to let Henry take his nap. The story I got on the water taxi is that it was a bit too long and not enough to see that was very interesting so not really worth it.
