Abby Meets an Apple

Abby is most definitely in the stage where she wants to eat whatever anyone else at the table is eating. Today's must-have was an apple. Not an apple slice An apple. Benjamin started one and ate about 1/3 of it. I handed the leftover to Abby just to see what she would do with it. I have to say she is a pretty good study. She needed not one direction and finished almost the entire apple.

And maybe not the most exciting of videos, but you do get to hear her 'enjoyment' of her food. (She 'mmmmm's' like this almost the whole time she eats anything.) And it is also a pretty good, "Uh oh". So, enjoy, Grandma.

'Carving' Pumpkins

If you remember last year's carving post, you'll know that carved pumpkins at the Campbell house are not the typical Halloween jack-o-lanterns. Good news is, it is a quick job and not nearly as messy. The boys picked their own pumpkins, we made holes with a screwdriver, and they inserted the potato head pieces. (Maybe not always in the right holes, but in the holes nonetheless.)Benjamin was so pleased, he hugged his pumpkin.And Noah was just happy he didn't have to touch any pumpkin goo.

Boo at the Zoo

It was just boys for Boo at the Zoo since Mommy would rather play with her friends and the sewing machine and Abby loves her naptime. :) We arrived late and found the zoo packed out because the weather was awesome. We struggled into costumes in the parking lot and hustled. Meeting up with the Potts family at the playground we had a reunion of Optimus, Bumble Bee, and the "Transformer Boss".

With the heroes reunited it was time to fight evil. Bumble Bee was down for a minute with a twisted ankle. It's so sad to see your kids hurt and you can't really do anything to make it better. Bumble Bee was much tougher than Dad about it and just walked it off.

Next we hit the trail to see some animals. A quick stop at the haunted Pirate ship to see lots of cannons, skeletions and a giant paper mache shark. There were lots exciting costumes to see. That's gotta be the best part, seeing all the costumes. Benjamin's favorite part was to run up to a group of kids and yell "AHHHH HAAAAAAAA!!!!!". Most kids were just puzzled by Benjamin's drama, but one in particular was terrified. I know it shouldn't be funny but I did chuckle.

At the end of the trail we decided to stop for lunch in the Outback and watch the kangaroos. Joining us for lunch was an entire colony of real bees. We really should have just skipped lunch now that I think about it. No one got stung but Benjamin is still mad that the goose stole he jelly sandwich. I doubt he will ever remember that he actually dropped the sandwich off the deck. Don't ask him about it!

After lunch we did a round trip ride on the train. The boys had a good time eating my apple and checking out all of the decorations.

End of the line! Time to get on with the tricks and the treats! On our way back we stopped at the bone yard to see what the bones of some of the zoo animals look like. The boys didn't think it was as cool as I thought it was. Though Benjamin liked the crocodile skull.

Finally, the trick or treat trail! Of course the boys wanted to open each and every piece as they got it. The trail ended at the Sea Lion home. We got to watch a couple of them play, though I wondered if they were going to throw down. One final treat for the day and for Dad. Since Mom is off goofing around with the other Moms we called in a favor and sent Noah over to the Potts family for a sleep over. He was so excited that he didn't even ask to take his candy with him.

Another great day at the zoo!

My Weekend Getaway

This weekend I had a new adventure. I got to go away. For a whole weekend. Just girls. No kids. All crafting. All the time. It was THE biggest treat. I mean no offense to my fabulous husband or my wonderful children because I do enjoy spending time with them (I even tried to change my mind at the last moment but Christopher pushed me out the door) but it was just a perfect weekend! It was sort of like sorority life all over again. Except, there was no homework. Only crafting. (In case you were of the homework type back then, that is...)
SIDEBAR: When Noah was a baby I attended a breastfeeding support group. Not only was the information shared very helpful, it was also one of very few regular events that we attended out of the house. We were there pretty much every week. There was a large group of 'regulars' who all coincidentally had May birthdays. They all connected over that fact and very graciously included us even though Noah was a March baby. We first got together outside of class for a Christmas get-together in December 2005. We have continued to get together frequently ever since. They are a wonderful group of ladies and I am so thankful to call them (and their children) friends. Now back to the story.
This summer they found out about a local bed and breakfast that caters to scrapbookers. The rest of the moms are big in to scrapbooking so they booked the weekend and included me. Now I have all of our wedding stuff set aside to be scrapbooked but have never started on it. This would have been the perfect time but I had some sewing projects that I really wanted to work on, so I packed up my sewing machine and took that instead. (It actually was a good way to do it because after watching them for 2.5 days I have a better idea of what I need to do to get my wedding stuff organized so maybe the next time we go I will have it all planned out instead of spending the whole time trying to figure out hoe to get started.) As I said, it was wonderful. The first floor of the house was set up with big tables for crafting. And the best part? When we finished at night, we didn't have to put anything away. We just went upstairs to the cute, little bedrooms and slept (for just 5 shourt hours) then came down the next morning and got right back to work. And what could make this even better? THEY CATERED IN THE MEALS!!! Meal time arrived, and meals just showed up. The fine people that worked there even served us! Including drinks throughout the day. Seriously - our only job this weekend was to chat and craft. It was truly wonderful. The crafting was theraputic. The food was delicious. And the fellowship was priceless. So, thanks to Christopher for making letting me go. And, thanks to the girls for including me 4 years ago and inviting me this weekend. I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

As I mentioned in the previous post, this visit happened to coincide with my grandfather's birthday. I was probably more excited than anyone else about celebrating a 94th birthday and wanted to make sure our cake had 94 candles. However, I was a little concerned with how we would light all the candles on one cake without either burning ourselves OR the first candles melting in to the cake before we finished them all. So, I decided to go with five cakes. Needless to say, we had plenty to go around - even some whole cakes to send home with our guests. Grandpa even had TWO pieces! Who was going to tell him no? He was a very good sport in letting us celebrate his birthday in such a big way.And having five cakes meant that all little boys could help with the candle blowing and not cause any problems. (Maybe this is what we should do for every birthday??!!?)

Our Weekend Visitors

This past weekend we had the priviledge of hosting Grandma Bonnie, Grandpa Doug, Uncle Scott, AND Great-Grandpa Bernard. Grandma Dorothy and Grandpa Bernard's birthdays are just a few days apart and I wasn't sure how he was going to handle 'birthday weekend' without her company - for the first time in over 70 years. So, I concocted this plan to have him come to our house. I hadn't worked out the details fully when my parents decided they would come visit also. They picked up Grandpa, drove through the Upper Peninsula to Minnesota to visit my Uncle and his family, then arrived here on Wednesday. We had three and a half VERY action-filled days. The boys were so excited to have Grandpa Bernard here. It was the frst thing out of their mouths in the morning and they were so excited to get to sit by Grandpa at breakfast. He even helped feed Benjamin his yogurt, which I thought was pretty cute and Benjamin appreciated too. Grandma made sure they brought THE Jeep, so Noah got to drive all afternoon on Thursday (until he got a little brave and was driving standing up and flipped the car over in the yard.) Grandma even found these super cute race car driver outfits. Complete with gloves. Noah loved them. While we wanted to spend as much time with Grandpa as we could, I also had some projects that I wanted mom to help me with at home. Friday after school, the Grandpas (as the boys called them) and Uncle Scott picked Noah up from school and took him to the Farmer. We knew Grandpa Bernard would like it out there and we were not wrong. Except he did not understand why they had perfectly fine tractors just sitting around. "If someone refurbished them they would be in fine working condition." Noah also enjoyed getting to show them all the parts of the farm all by himself. Saturday morning the guys were up early again and headed for the World War I museum downtown and daddy took the little boys out so Grandma and I could sew without 'interruption'. We got 3/4's of Abbys coat done before we had to start preparing for the big birthday party. (More on that in the next post.) Sunday found us at church and then the troops headed home after lunch. As we didn't have room for everyone at our house, my parents stayed a hotel and took turns taking the boys with them (as that is their absolute FAVORITE thing to do). That meant we had the evenings to just sit and relax with grandpa. He likes to talk politics and Christopher can usually keep up - I add comments when I can. Mostly it was just nice to sit and visit with him. And because he is a true Randolph with his specific TV shows to watch, Benjamin got to learn a new activity. Who knew you could watch Phineas & Ferb online? As I said, it was a very quick visit but we were so thankful that they were able to come and see us. We hadn't seen them since July - and that is really long time! And I have a sneaking suspicion Grandpa enjoyed it also. Several times he asked to have his picture taken with the children. I don't ever remember him doing that with any of us before. Oh, and for your added enjoyment, here is a dress that Grandma made for Abby. How cute is that?

Quick Funny

This evening while I was changing diapers, Noah was following along behind me chattering away. He loves to talk about our ages and how old he will be when Abby is 6 (AND A HALF) or how old his dad is and how he will be older than him one day. I am ashamed to admit that I do not listen to every single word he says. When I did start listening to him again I heard him saying, "And then 77... and then 87... and then 97... and then 107." I said, "Noah! Listen to you! Are you counting by 10's?" (Now, mind you, I knew full well that he wouldn't understand what I was asking. I was just shocked to hear what he was doing.) He sat right up and looked at me with a confused look on his face. He said "No, mom. I was counting by 7's. Weren't you listening?" Couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes that kid can just be too cute...

Benjamin's First Day of School

Well, it is official. As of yesterday, Benjamin is officially IN SCHOOL. Daddy and I went back and forth on the idea of getting him in a program this year and had pretty much decided not to do it - feeling very guilty because he was pretty vocal about his interest in going to Noah's school. But at the last minute (actually, a week after school started) we changed our minds and were able to get him in. See, most of my day is spent refereeing my sons. To say it is exhausting is an understatement. (If anyone has ANY suggestions on how to work with this issue aside from separation, I am all ears...) School days are a treat around here because with the boys separated everyone is happier and less stressful. However, it occurred to me that Noah deserved to be home for one of those 'quieter' days as well. So, now Tuesdays are his day home with Mommy and Abby where we get to do what he wants to do and he doesn't haave to be in trouble all day for fighting with his brother. AND, Benjamin gets to spend a day at school. It is a win-win.

So, on his first day daddy met us at school to walk him in. As we were getting out of the car he asked about Noah's back pack. I said he didn't need it because he wasn't staying. There was some confusion about this, but he got over it quickly. As he jumped out of the car he said, "I won't lose you, Mommy, while I am at school." (Isn't he thoughtful?) Because he is at "Noah' school" he had no apprehension at all. He marched right in there and said hi to all the office staff then went to his classroom. He went right in and started playing with the toys. The teachers were very impressed with his level of comfort. (Really we knew he was not going to have any problem with going to school. I was just kind of hoping he would shed just a little tear. Just ONE tear. Just to let me know that he would miss spending his entire day with me. We got nothing.) He was kind enough to wave and smile as we walked out - more than some other sons do when they go to school.

Now, Benjamin's day could last until 2:30 but that would mean he would have rested for an hour at school and missed out on his 2-3 hour nap at home AND he would be home and awake while Noah and Abby were sleeping, so I am opting to pick him up early. I kind of feel guilty about this because he looks so cute lying on his little cot with all his friends when I get there to pick him up. (He also tells me that resting with his friends is his favorite part of the day. I am fairly certain this is because it is the last thing he does each day.) He told me that he ate lunch next to Nathan and he eats chocolate sandwiches. I think I know who Benjamin's best friend is going to be... And while we might not be ready for Benjamin to be old enough to 'go to school' we really are grateful that he has made the transition so easily. Happy schooling, Benjamin!

100 and Counting

Something very exciting happened yesterday. Noah counted to 100. All by himself. WITH NO MISTAKES! Now, if you spend any amount of time with Noah you know he practices A LOT. When not spelling every word he can see or asking questions that truly have no correct answer, he is counting. What started very innocently as, "One-a, Two-a, Three-a, Four-a..." earlier this summer quickly blossomed into, "What comes after 20-10?" And when we corrected him, he didn't just make the change and continue. He'd go back to one and start over. Even yesterday afternoon he was still struggling with the higher numbers and forgetting what came after 79. But he never gives up. He must have been thinking about it all through choir practice because as soon as we got home he told his dad he wanted to count for him. He started right in and went all the way to 100 without stopping or stumbling even once. I really can't believe he is so big! When we asked him to do it again later so we could tape him, he went all the way to 120. Wait until he finds out he knows the secret of counting indefinitely. Can't wait until he starts counting to 1,000. And if you ever want to hear him, just ask. He is more than happy to oblige anyone who asks him to count. Here is a little blurb of his milestone last night.

Mr. Sun

Benjamin has really been improving in his singing. Not only does he do it more, his songs are more and more recognizable each day. And, he is really good at remembering the words. This morning he really wanted me to sing "the sun song". I didn't have any idea what he was talking about so I asked him if he could tell me what it sounded like. I really was not expecting much of a response but, this is what I got in return... Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

New Backpacks. Ka-chow!

Today was a big day for Benjamin. He got to go to the Disney store to pick out his VERY OWN backpack and suitcase (or lunch box, to some). I was a little concerned that we had missed them because the store was all about Halloween costumes. We eventually found them tucked in the back. It actually took him quite a while to make a decision on the best choice. He first said he wanted Buzz & Woody. (That is what Noah has...) But then he ended up with Lightning McQueen. This is where it went immediately, and this is where it stayed. After his nap, he filled his backpack with dominoes and his 'suitcase' with books. I do not think the boy could be any happier. There is just something about new backpacks. Remember when Noah got his?

Sorry, Amy.

One of my best friends from college went on to dental school. Her dad was a dentist. Her sister was a dentist. Her brother-in-law was a dentist. We got our share of [unsolicited] dental advice on occasion. Always sweet, of course, because Amy knew no other way. When I went back to school here in Kansas, I was without insurance. I had some problems with my teeth and she coached me from Memphis. Even sent contraband dental supplies in the mail. (NOT the federal mail, of course. It was interoffice mail - I promise.) She was even good enough to send me those fun, little, pink pills that little kids chew to see where they missed brushing because she knew I loved them. Well, I had a dentist appointment tonight. Had a cavitiy. Turns out living off Diet Coke and not brushing your teeth for nine months at a time will eventually catch up with you. So, I'm sorry, Amy. I am sorry that I chose to ignore all your advice. I promise to step it up a little in my dental care, ok? You can all hold me accountable on that. :)

Old Settlers' Days

We saw in the newspaper that Olathe was celebrating "Old Settlers' Days" this weekend. We were intrigued by "the largest parade in Kansas" - I mean, who doesn't love a parade? Our boys love their marching bands and the weather was supposed to be beautiful so we headed out. Little dd we realize the largest parade also meant ridiculous crowds. We eventually found a parking place but had to walk a looooong way to find a place to watch the parade. And it was a fabulous parade. What's funny is, it was about 82 degrees but as we have been spoiled with mid-70's for the last six weeks or so that EVERYONE was complaining about the heat. I think we actually got our first sunburns of the year also, but again. Not complaining. After wathcing most of the parade and getting some yummy candy (maybe that is what the boys like best, come to think of it) we decided to go downtown and take in some of the rides. The boys have never been on any of these little carnival rides and we thought they would probably enjoy it. We were not wrong. They went straight for the motorcycles first. Now Benjamin was a little apprehensive but was willing to try it because he was with his big brother. Unfortunately, the second seat belt didn't work so he had to move to his own cycle. He was holding on for dear life. When the ride started, he had a look of sincere fright on his face but after the first spin around, he just started cracking up and pretty much never stopped. Next they hit the spaceships and the little mini dragon roller coaster. They laughed and laughed and it was truly heartwarming to see them enjoying each other's company sooo much. Now THAT is what it is [supposed to be] all about. Noah and daddy also took in the Ferris Wheel. He had a song about one on his Kindermusik CD and has wanted to try one ever since. He was not disappointed.

A quick hour walk back to our car and we were back in the air conditioning. Boy, did that feel good. And, on case you are wondering, an 'Old Settler' is someone who has lived in Johnson County for 40 years. Christopher is soooo going to be first in that line for his offical button in just three short years. Check back, I'll be sure to post a picture.

Another Day of Firsts

Abby had another big day yesterday. Mommy handed her a toy while she was standing and he took her hands right off the toy box and just stood there - not holding on to anything. She looked so big. While it was super cute (cause, really, what isn't that she does?), I told her daddy that I really didn't like it. I know she is already older than the boys were when they were walking, but she still just looks so little. And I am perfectly happy with her staying that way as long as she will. Second on her list of firsts - Abby made her first outgoing phone call. She called customer service for our phone provider. Luckily she dialed 6-1-1-1 and not 9. I was able to hang up before any person actually answered. Now that is something the boys have not yet accomplished. I know - we should get used to the fact that she will be spending much time on the phone in the years to come. And lastly, Abs sported her first ponytail. Now, daddy and I are in agreement that these little ponytails are a little funny looking so she won't be wearing them very often. But we also both agreed it was pretty cute for her first try. And when it fell out, daddy got his first try at putting it back in. How cute is that? Go easy on him, though. (Nobody told him that the rubber band expanded to go around the pony tail, he tried to just slip it on.) I'm sure he will get better with practice. So, as you can see, three firsts for activities that we will no doubt see plenty of in the future.

Four. AND A HALF!!

We've never made much of the age add-on's to this point. However, Noah has a little friend that has friends with older siblings and all this is very important to him - thus, it has become very important to Noah. We decided to have some fun with it, so we had a "half-birthday party". He was disappointed to discover this did not come with all the presents and themed party, but did enjoy his HALF birthday cake. Can he really be just 6 short months shy of 5 YEARS OLD??? Yikes!

Oh, and for the record - he did not have a single bite of his cake. ALL he talked about all day but then he decided the frosting smelled bad and didn't want anything to do with it. Silly kid...