A Day at the Zoo

As luck would have it, today was one of Christopher's Fridays off. We opted to make the most of it. Christopher got up early and started on a yummy homemade breakfast. (How cute is that - cooking with the laptop at his fingers for the recipe?) The boys had other ideas, though. Noah had to start the day out with presents because he could stand it no longer. He got me a Snow White Barbie. He picked it out all by himslef and told me about it every chance he got between buying it and my birthday. When it was finally time for me to open it, I thought he was going to explode. Of course, I didn't get to see much of her after opening her as my sons took turns playing with her.

Next we packed a lunch, loaded up the family and headed to the zoo. It was a beautiful sun-shiny day and we thoroughly enjoyed our day outside. Noah wanted to see the Meerkats and Benjamin wanted to see the elephants. Check and check. Abigail just wanted to ride around in the stroller blowing raspberries. She did a great job at that. Benjamin even got to try his hand at feeding the birds. He did pretty well with it. Poor Benjamin did have one little accident, though. He tried ejecting himself from the stroller while it was in motion and landed on his head. It bled pretty good and I was amazed at how many people just walked right on by while we were trying to come up with something clean to wipe his head with while we were stranded in the middle of Africa. When we finally got to a bathroom and got him cleaned up, it turned out to be just a tiny cut, thank goodness. And once we got him cleaned up, he calmed down and we were able to finish the rest of the zoo.

Grandpa & Grandma Campbell had us over for dinner. Grilled steaks. Yum! I was lucky enough to score a new RED iPod, some new slipps, and a new John Denver CD. (It was hard to tell who was more excited, though. Me or the boys?) Benjamin had accident #2 when he and big brother collided and he got a bloody nose. Slowed down the wrestling for about 5 mintues. Save Benjamin's blood loss, it was a great way to spend my day!

Rock On!

Noah's friend Codey came over to play yesterday. After a long period of playing Knights and chasing down imaginary dragons, Codey found the drum set. To say he was taken with them would be an understatement. He had a great time playing away. And it never ceases to amaze me how kids just seem to know how to play all the drums, including the bass drum played with the foot. Surprisingly, Noah had no problem letting him play the drums and even picked up the guitar on occasion to accompany him. It didn't take long for Codey to request some real music that they could play along with. I asked if he had any requests and he thought for a moment then said, "Do you have the A B C's?" Luckily, I did. Although, I have to admit they were actually better at their rocking rendition of "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider". It was super cute when they were even singing along while they played. I do think this is a good sign, however, that we should definitely make sure our future house has a sound proof room for band practices.

9 Months

Nothing new to report this month - no new teeth, no crawling, no talking, no new tricks. Abby just continues to get cuter and cuter and we love her just a little more each day. (Hard to believe it's possible, I know, but she finds a way.) Well, I guess she did pull herself up for the first time. In the rocking chair. Just in time for her monthly photo shoot...

Abby's First Bad Hair Day

Not sure if it is good or bad but Abby has had her first recorded bad hair day. On the one hand, it's exciting because this means she actually has enough hair to get it messed up when she sleeps. On the other hand, it could mean that she is in for a really long life of messy hair days. At least she will always think she is making people happy! After all, who could look at this face and not smile??

Noah's Garden

Noah has quite the green thumb and always looks forward to the planting season. This year he got the notion that in addition to his regular flower bed, he would also like to plant some vegetables. I thought it sounded like fun so we headed to Home Depot and got some supplies. He picked carrots, pumpkins, radishes, corn, red peppers, and lettuce. We also picked up this little seed starter which I highly recommend, should you decide to try something like this. The kit came with little dirt circles for each of the holes. We just added water, let the dirt expand then stuck the seeds down inside. We might not have followed the seed number recommendations but how do you tell a four-year-old to put just ONE seed in each hole when they are so small you can barely see them? So, instead of one, we got more like 10. Better the chances for something growing, right? Oh, and if you are as impatient as Noah and I are with growing things, I highly recommend radishes. We planted them just before dinner and by the time I went to bed they had already sprouted! Also, with this little greenhouse thingy they are in, they are to stay nice and moist so we won't have to try to remember to water them regularly. An added bonus in this house. Now, in case you are wondering, when I asked Noah if he was going to actually eat the vegetables that he grew, I think he kind og chuckled when he said, "No. I just want to harvest them like Rabbit." At least now I know where he got the idea for the garden! Unfortunately, he also thinks we need to build a scarecrow to keep his corn safe. Wish us luck!

Mmm, Mmm, Good!

I think Abby is finally getting the hang of this eating thing. She has very definite ideas of WHEN she wants to eat but as long as I hit one of those, she'll take whatever I offer. Most times she even screams if you aren't feeding her fast enough. Due to some problems with her 'pipes' bananas have been banned. She has taken to mangoes in their place. However, if I had to guess, I might say asparagus is her favorite. Isn't that beautiful? I've decided the freezing food stuff might not be the way I want to go. The poor kid has been eating the same 4 foods forever because a batch makes so much. So, I decided just to make something at each meal that she can have. Tonight was a very big night for her as she had her first meat. I pureed some of our dinner for her - pork chops, potatoes, and red pepper. She gobbled it right down. Now if I would just get brave enough to give her the chunkier foods, we could be on the road to another little Benjamin. Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Easter!

The one downfall of being in the choir and orchestra at church is that Sunday holidays do not often get to be celebrated on a Sunday. Take Easter, for instance. We had to do our egg hunt on Saturday morning. The boys are, of course, too young to notice this as odd right now but in the future we might have some explaining to do. They had a good time hunting down all the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid. And would you believe that bunny is so smart that he knew to hide the eggs that Noah decorated in one room and the eggs that Benjamin made in another? Because heaven forbid they actually touch one of the eggs that the other made with their own sweat and blood, you know? But I digress... Here are the eggs they made, by the way. Surprised? I have to admit I was surprised to find Star Wars eggs, but I should have known better than to doubt that Target. Have you ever used the egg wraps before? This was our first experience but they were pretty neat! This was our first attempt to color eggs with the boys and it went really well - once mom laid off and just allowed them to do it, that is. So, Sunday morning Christopher had to be to church at 6:00AM. I would have too except the kids can't be in child care for three services, so I stayed home to take them in later. It was actually lucky that we did baskets on Saturday because that silly bunny forgot to put out some of the boys' goodies so he was able to come again on Sunday. Come on, is there anything cuter than this soft, cuddley Darth Vader. EB should have brought Abby one too. Have I mentioned how much my boys like chap stick? As Noah said, "That Easter Bunny is so sneaky!" And here are our beautiful Easter children.

We also took advantage of an egg hunt at Noah's school. Daddy had this silly notion that he needed to talk to Noah about how not to take ALL the eggs but to share some with the other kids. So this is what he ended up with. No, this is not just what he could hold - this is all he got. Even Abby did better than that... And isn't it cute how kids just seem to know that the eggs are made for eating?? (Please take note of the sweet little bunny pants that Abby is wearing.) AND, we got to visit the ol' EB. Abby didn't seem to mind him at all...

Go Royals!

The start to another season means we can start with a clean slate, right? One full of dreams for a championship season? A play off season? Or maybe just a winning season? How about one where we don't find ourselves saying, "Oh, when will this season end?" come late summer... While the children donned their Owl baseball wear to signal the official start to the season (which, for the record was to be played 4/6 in Chicago but was postponed a day in advance due to snow) but we all got in the ballgame to welcome our boys in blue back to the K. We didn't get to go to the game (which they lost to the Yankees 4-1) but we sang 'Baseball Game' anyway. Good luck, Royals!!

Michigan

Last weekend, Abby and I got to go on a 'girl's trip' to Michigan. My grandfather was awarded the Conference Cane by the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church. Now what that actually means is that he is the oldest living ordained minister in the conference. This October, he will be 94. His district superintendent set up a very nice presentation within the service of his local church AND he got to preach. As he retired when I was just 3, I never got to hear him preach, so that was a treat as well. We had wondered aloud before the weekend just what he would talk about and whether or not he would try to impart some wisdom on all the young "wipper-snapper" preachers moving up the ranks. But, he stuck just to the scripture and did a very nice job. And as an added bonus, we had a little mini family reunion. My dad and his four brothers were all present. And here is my grandpa and his little brother, Carl. He's 90. How cute is that? My grandmother is currently residing in a nursing home and is not really stable enough to leave for visits, so we had a nice lunch at her care facility so that she could attend. She was in a wonderful state and seemed very aware of all who were there and she was so happy to see Abby and my cousin's daughter, Emalyn. Those of you that read my post last summer about going to visit my grandma may remember that she was not is such a good state last time so I am really thankful that we were able to go and visit her again. We also had the opportunity to visit with some other friends while we were in town.

Here is Jen and her daughters Sophia and Ally. You may notice that Abby is not so happy to be in this picture. I promise you this was the only time she was upset the whole time we were away. We suspect it was because the girls were all about touching and playing with her. I think she was enjoying being away from her brother's and all that 'attention'. Jen also has a son, Jackson. He was busy checking out the yard and could not be bothered with a baby. I think Abby appreciated that.

Here is Lisa with her daughter Bethany and niece Cecilia. Lisa is an amazing seamstress. When Abby was born she gifted us all this great stuff. During this visit, she gave Abby some super cute Easter pants that you will see later.

So, this is what Abby looked like every second EXCEPT when with Jen and her girls. She LOVED having her own space and getting to explore grandma's house without bother.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Christopher and the boys were not able to join us because Christopher's nephew was receiving his Eagle Scout award in southern Missouri, so the boys stayed here to attend that celebration. Congrats, Alex!

10 years?!?!

10 years ago this very weekend I became a resident of the fine state of Kansas. I know... I know... Those of you that knew me then are thinking, "Could it really have been 10 YEARS ago?!?!?" , but, alas, it was. On April 4, 1999, Gretchen, Scott, and I pulled in to town and lodged at the Amerisuites as it was a Sunday and I would not be able to get in to my apartment until Monday. Also, the truck with all my belongings would not be there until Wednesday, so it was good to have a bed. I took that first Monday off to do things like sign apartment contracts (have it on video, by the way, if you want to watch it just ask), get my car registered, get a license, etc. And even though I told the people at work this, they neglected to tell me that those offices were not open on Monday. So, with a beautiful, sunny day all to ourselves with nothing to do, we headed to Kauffman Stadium to take in the Royals home opener. (Something that I would make a tradition for many years to come.) I knew nobody down here when I moved and spent many weeknights and weekends alone until I finally made some acquaintances - some of which would change my life forever. (Hint. Hint.) I discovered my church the weekend I was down apartment hunting - before I even moved here. The offertory was a Billy Joel song, I mean, come on! And I am pleased to say I and have been in attendance almost every weekend since.

Christopher asked me yesterday how long I thought I would stay here when I moved. I honestly can't remember. I do know that when I started working at Black & Veatch in Michigan I came to Kansas City for some training. In the evenings when my friend, Boyd, and I were out exploring Overland Park I thought it was a really nice place and I would like to live here. DONE. I even went so far as to pick out Shawnee Mission South as the school at which I would someday teach Spanish. DONE. I also told him that I would have my children at Menorah Medical Center because "who wouldn't want to have their children at a hospital with a giant Menorah out front." DONE. I also picked out the neighborhood that I would someday live in. Now that hasn't happened yet, but my time here is not over yet... Just for fun, let's just take a look at some of the things that have changed since 1999. (Yes, you can sing that if you want.)

1999: Honda Civic 2009: Honda Odyssey
1999: One-bedroom apartment 2009: Four-bedroom house

1999: Gas was $0.89 2009: Bought it for $1.82 yesterday (Difference would have been more impressive last summer...)

1999: Attended LOTS of Royals games 2009: Have tickets for 8 games so far

1999: Mike Sweeney, Jeremy Giambi, Jermaine Dye were Royals (but I rooted for the Tigers just to get Christopher's goat) 2009: Don't get me started. If they trade Mark Teahen, I will REALLY be done with them. I mean it this time.

1999: Spent lots of nights at Blades games 2009: No more hockey in KC

1999: 90210 and ER 2009: The Office and ER (until 3 days ago, that is)

1999: Chinese Palace and learning Chinese 2009: Chipotle. mmmmm....

1999: Driving music - Billy, ABBA, anything good for singing LOUDLY 2009: Nothing I get to pick myself, I can assure you of that.

1999: Cammie 2009: Camille (even though I left her in Ann Arbor with two smelly male roommates, she never gave up on me. And still the same great friend even with the big name change.)
1999: Just me 2009: Me, Christopher, Noah, Benjamin, Abby, Sydney, Satchel, Zeke, and Cal

Let's see... Am I forgetting anything? Oh, yes... My family THEN: My family NOW: Have I been blessed, or what? Can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings.