No, No, No

You've got it all wrong. Tape? Never! Elastic? Ouch, man!

The solution is . . .

Baby Pacifier Glasses Frames! Safe, simple, effective, affordable. AND, they come with their own case!

***

Ellie saying prayers before having a snack of cheese and Barbie fruit snacks: "Thank you for cheese and barbecue sauce."

***

Carla: Walker, get your shoes, we're going to Grandma's for her birthday.

Walker: Who's birthday? Wii grandma?

Go Mavers!

Ellie was sick over the weekend so Carla and I were pretty much on cleanup duty the whole time. Friday, basically from sunup to sundown, Ellie laid on "her" couch and watched Dora DVDs. Finally on Saturday morning, she proclaimed herself healed . . . "My tummy's all gone, Daddy." Well, her tummy may have felt better but it hadn't told her small intestine yet so we had to make sure she still ate a very mild diet.

Kurt: Ellie, would you like some noodle soup for lunch?

Ellie: I want cheese.

Kurt: Ellie, I don't think you'd like cheese right now. It'll make your belly hurt.

Ellie: Yes I do like cheese. It feels me good in the afternoon!

When Walker doesn't have anyone to play football with, he just throws the ball in the air and catches it, pretending to play against an imaginary team. He makes up the team names. One day last week it was the Salamis vs. the Mavers. The Salamis won, 3 - 0.

I'm also seriously considering inventing something like this:

A few close calls

* Warning to Bill and Keely - this might be a good one not to read *

OK, so it's been 2 weeks now, but here goes:

Monday, Nov 26, Carla called me at work and said she hadn't been feeling the baby move much and she had said that the night before, too. We decided to go ahead and call the doctor and they had her come in. They hooked her up to the non-stress-test-machine-thing and found a good steady heartbeat but not much movement. Dr. Chitra apparently walked in, looked at something, and said she didn't even want to mess with it and to go have a baby. We got to Mercy at about noon and Dr. Chitra broke Carla's water at ten 'till 2. From then on, I could have set my watch by Carla's contractions (I didn't, though, she would have gotten pretty mad if she was having a baby and I was messing with my watch). She had one every 3 minutes until we had a baby at 5:45. Yes, she went natural again because she's just that tough. Anderson had the cord around his neck, which is probably why there wasn't much movement, but his heart rate stayed steady the whole way through. We're thankful that the good Lord was giving us a hint that we should get to the doctor. Things could have been much more complicated had we waited. Anyway, healthy baby, healthy mommy, happy family.

Except for Ellie. Did I ever write about how she likes to play dead? She's very convincing. Sometimes, if she's really tired and really upset, she'll hold her breath until she passes out. I mean blue in the face, eyes in the back of her head, and totally limp. Well, yesterday, Walker tackled her for the 200th time. Ellie was a little mad but Carla didn't think much of it. I was in the garage so Carla took Walker to his room for a time out. When she came back downstairs, Ellie was across the room from where Carla had left her, laying on the floor passed out and not breathing. Carla woke her up and got her going again but it was a little scarier than usual because neither one of us was right there. Before when she's looked like she was going down (probably 10-12 times now) one of us was always there to blow in her face to make her breathe again or wake her up when she actually does pass out. I'm going to have to have a stern talk with that girl. Which will probably really really upset her . . .

Catch up ball?!? Gross!

Really quick highlights leading up to Anderson:
Thanksgiving was nice. Lots of food, of course.
The day after Thanksgiving (which was on a Friday this year), I built a little wall to hold the door to my future basement stairs. That's been a project 2 years in the works. Well 1 yr and 11 months in the planning, 1 month in the works. Then we almost went to the hospital but Carla's contractions finally stopped.
Saturday, lots of running around. Carla really wanted to take the kids to Build-a-Bear. I had been dreaming of that day for oh so long and, finally, it was time! The kids had fun, although they were really tired, and I hardly complained at all. Walker got a dog, which he named Vixen (then changed his mind to Dancer, then finally settled on Vixen Dancer Kandel, although he usually calls him Vixen Kandel Dancer). Ellie got a bunny, which she named Hoppy:
Kurt: Is your bunny a boy bunny or a girl bunny?
Ellie: No, it's a Hoppy.
Kurt: I know, but is Hoppy a boy or a girl?
Ellie: No! Just a bunny!

Here they are stuffing their animals:
Ellie was too tired to stand on the pedal.
Posing with their new friends:



And Ellie "taking a bathtub" because I thought it was a cute picture:

Sunday: Sunday must have been relatively uneventful, because I don't remember much of it. The youth group placed their wagers on whether the baby would be a boy or a girl and how much it would weigh - not a minute too soon, either.

Monday: Well, I'll tell you later I guess . . . By the way, go to Jen's blog to see some professional pictures of Anderson. They came out really good.

Time to play some catch up ball

Yes, we had a kid and, yes, he's cute. If anyone doesn't know by now:
Anderson Dale
11/26/07
7 lbs 4 oz
19.5 in

Everything went fine, except he had the cord wrapped around his neck, just like Walker did. What is it with these sons of mine? More on that later but, since I know that I haven't posted since before thanksgiving, I might as well start then with some things the kids have said.

Thanksgiving morning, I heard Ellie talking to herself in her room so I went up to get her.

Kurt: Good morning, Ellie

Ellie: Meow!

Kurt: Why'd you say Meow?

Ellie: Because, I'm a kitty cat. Meow!

She's been a kitty cat for over a week now. Meowing all the time.

***

Later that day, we were looking through our window for deer in the woods.

Kurt: I don't see any deer.

Ellie: I see a lion!

I used to do the same thing with Walker when he was Ellie's age.

Kurt: Walker, I don't see any deer. You'd better call them with your deer call.

Walker: DEEEEER!!!!

***

Walker, recently and randomly: Daddy, I'm forth and you're back so I win, right?

At first I thought he was saying fourth, so I was extremely confused. Once I figured out he was saying "forth", like back and forth, I was just very confused.

More later, including highlights from the labor and delivery (not video highlights, though, that's a bit much).

Notes and Quotes 5

Ellie, asking for a slice of american cheese: I want wiggly cheese.
By the way, she's pretty much graduated from "wenkle" to "wiggle" now. I miss my little baby girl.

Ellie woke up at 5:00 this morning for some reason. She wanted mommy, milk, and nursery rhymes (DVD). After that, it was time to get her dressed and, what did she want to wear? Dora jammies, of course.

Walker, telling me I need new rotors for the old grand cherokee: Daddy, my seat is shivering.

Ellie, singing about where Jesus was born: Mawy had a baby, oh my Wowd, way down in BAPHAHAM!

Walker and Ellie were playing the famous ball popper game the other day and Ellie was getting really excited, jumping and running around to collect the balls.
Me, laughing: Ellie, don't wear yourself out.
Walker, moments later, not laughing: Ellie, don't wear yourself out or you'll die and go to heaven.
Yikes.

The day of three surprises

I took Walker and Ellie to the doctor on Friday to get their flu shots. Ellie was pretty much clueless but Walker really, really didn't want to go. I told him it was just a little shot and that if he could be brave and show Ellie how it's done, he could get three surprises. Well, as it turns out, flu shots are a thing of the past. The "shot" is now a nasal spray. Kids are so spoiled these days.

So, to keep the spoiled kids theory alive, I still gave them their 3 surprises.
Surprise #1: Popcorn and lemonade at Target. Target was one of the first words Walker learned how to spell: O-T-A-R-G-E-T.
Surprise #2: Lunch at Chic-fil-a. Unbeknownst to me but beknownst to Walker and Ellie, Chic-fil-a has a playground.
Walker: Oh, boy, Chic-fil-a! I'm going to play at the playground!
Kurt: They have a playground? Oh, I've never been there.
Walker: Dad, you'll really like their new french fries. They're not vertical.
That one perplexed me until our order came out. Waffle fries. They're cross-hatched, not vertical. Then they both ate about 1/2 a chicken nugget then went to play.
Surprise #3: Riding the escalator (or, "upsteps") at Sears. I told them we could ride it 3 times since it was a third surprise. Walker said, "You mean like up and down and up and down and up and down?" Yep, that's what I meant. We got some strange looks from people but it was fun.

I also got to watch a little football with Walker over the weekend. After one of the sacks in the Ohio State game, Walker said, "Wow, that guy got linebackered!"

Ellie did some stuff, too, but I'm out of lunch so I'll post about her later.

I guess it's been about a bit

Here's some pics from Ellie's birthday party:

Ellie in her birthday dress


Looking at her balloon. Every time she sits in that chair now she pulls the balloon down and says: "Oh, hi, Dora's adventure."

Quite obviously blowing out her candles

Showing everyone how old she is
Playing with some of her birthday presents (yes, that is beautifully braided hair and a fairy-peacock-princess outfit)


Blowing out the candles on her actual birthday

And this one has nothing to do with her birthday but I just thought it was cute

Ellie's also been cracking us up, lately. The other night at dinner, she said something that made us laugh and she sat there smiling for a minute then said "I'm funny."

She was pushing around her new Dora doll in her new baby carriage one morning.

Ellie: Dora's making good choices.

Kurt: Oh, good, that means she gets to do fun things.

Ellie: Yep, for Jesus.

Every night during prayers we ask the kids to think of something they want to thank Jesus for (I mean, something for which they want to thank Jesus. Sorry . . . Sorry, Everybody!). They usually mention something fun they did that day like playing Wii bowling or making popcorn but, last night, Ellie said: "Thank you Jesus for going to Heaven."

Which reminds me of 2 Walker things. First, remember how he used to tell us to spank Ellie whenever she did something bad? Well now he says "Dad, Ellie's not sharing. She's making bad choices so she doesn't get to go to Heaven." Go ahead, try to explain to a 3 year old that salvation is not based on works but on faith in Christ. Second, at preschool, his class made construction paper feathers to put on a giant poster of a turkey. On the feathers, they all wrote something FOR WHICH they're thankful. Most kids wrote Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Sister, whatever. Walker wrote that he's thankful for bowling. It's ok, though. One kid wrote that he was thankful for legs.

The 2 minute post to make mom happy

Well, most of you know we had Ellie's birthday party yesterday. A little smaller than in the past - just grandparents, aunts, uncles, and one cousin-to-be this time - which was nice and relaxing. We'll let Ellie have another big birthday party when she's 25. I'll post pictures when we get them offloaded but, for now, just a few quick highlights, mainly so mom won't complain that she has nothing to read today.

During the party:
Ellie was great, Walker was great, the food was, well, about par for Carla (which is great, of course!), Carla was awake and happy, the browns were winning.

Immediately after the party:
Ellie was asleep, Walker was crabby then asleep, the food was gone, Carla was asleep and achy, the Browns were, well, about par. We should have partied for 1 more half of football.

Ellie was so happy, though. Of course, why wouldn't she be? She was lavished with attention and was gifted with all things Dora. It doesn't get any better for a cute little 2 year old girl.

Pics in a bit! (why does that sound dirty?)

The kids in black

Walker loves Johnny Cash, which I fully encourage. The only problem is his favorite song is called "Cocaine Blues". He asked to listen to it last night so I put it in for him and I realized he pretty much has it memorized.
Walker Cash: Early one morning while making my rounds, I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down.
It doesn't get any better, either. Fortunately, Carla and I always seem to be talking really loudly during that second to last line . . . It was pretty cute watching him and Ellie listen last night, though, especially when I walked in and Walker was singing and Ellie was playing the harmonica. She can change harmonicas faster than kiss a duck.

Why don't these people let their children listen to kids' songs? We do. They have their Eddie music, Bible Songs, Silly songs, etc., but they also like Johnny Cash for whatever reason. The cool part is, they know more Johnny Cash songs than you do (except maybe Tim) but they've never even heard of the Wiggles.

The comedic talents of Ellie Jane

I lost Ellie the other day. I was in the office watching Walker play on the computer and, when I came out, Ellie was nowhere to be found. No windows were open, so I was guessing she was still in the house. I checked our bedroom, bathroom, closet, and was about to go upstairs in a semi-panic, when, for some reason, I walked back into the bedroom. Some of Carla's clothes were on the floor and I realized that Ellie must have been back in her new-found hiding spot (look at the pictures from a couple posts ago). She loves pulling clothes out of Carla's dresser and hiding in there but she's usually really loud. This time, not a sound for at least 5 minutes. I opened the door and she said, "I play hide and seek. SURPRISE!"

Bathtime . . .
Ellie, holding up a bottle of baby soap: My soap is red.
Kurt, holding up the other bottle: Good job, El. What's this one?
Ellie: Shampoop!

Last night, Ellie was playing with her bare feet and singing.
Kurt: What'chya doing, El? (by the way, my new nickname for Ellie is Mexican question mark)
Ellie: Picking at my Halloween toes.

Also, Walker put his shirt on upside-down this morning. Not inside out, upside-down. He put the head hole over his head first and then pulled the rest of the shirt down and tried to work his arms up through the head hole and into the arm holes. More of a visual thing, I guess, but it was pretty funny.

Last night Walker, Ellie, and I (Carla) went on a date because Kurt's been working like a maniac lately. Since the house was clean, I figured - Why mess it up by cooking! Anyways, we got to Bob Evans and the hostess took us to the booth. I told Walker he was the man of the night so he could sit across from me and Ellie on the other side of the booth. He said, "Mommy, I'm taking you on a date!" I asked him if he was going to pay, to which he replied, "I can't pay, but I'll hold the keys cause I'm the man." He also did a fine job disciplining Ellie when she wasn't using her manners. He also let me know that if she continued, she should get spanked! Unfortunately, he thinks that it is always his job to correct/yell at her. We're working on this!
We had a really fun dinner, though. It will probably be the last dinner out before the baby comes . . .

Notes and Quotes . . . Um, 4?

What, no one knows the answer to my movie trivia subhead? Come on, think early '90s. Think of silk shirts, braided belts, and long ties with jeans. Think of a time when the mustaches of the '80s were being replaced with the gotees of awesomeness. Think Street Fighter 2, Troy Aikman, Ford Explorers, Darkwing Duck, wind pants, corded car phones, Home Improvement, Lion King, Norm Macdonald, Nirvana live unplugged, 3 Ninjas, Czech Republic, the 60 Mhz Pentium 1 with a 2-gig hard drive and Windows 3.1. Someone's gotta know.

---

Ellie saying prayers before dinner: Thank you for mommy and daddy and Walker and Ellie and the new baby and bad Jesus.

Carla and the kids bought 3 pumpkins for decorations the other day.
Carla to Walker: The big one's for you because your the biggest, the little one's for the new baby because the new baby's the littlest, and the medium one is for Ellie.
Walker: Because she's the mediumest?

Walker describing his recent Wii boxing match: Daddy, I lost to the third guy but I wonned the first two.
Me, assuming the guys had names: Who was the third guy?
Walker: He was in the green underpants and I was in the blue underpants.

My professor on Tuesday: . . . Wah Wah Wah (or however you spell the trombone sound that the teacher in Peanuts makes) Wah Wah Wah, and this, of course, is Einstein's theory of quantum mechanics.

Of course.

I got your pictures right here!

OK, Here's the most recent pregnant pic. Sorry Carla doesn't have a head in it but it's a good belly profile, right?

Pics from Boo at the Zoo. We heard a lot of "Oh, look at the little cheerleader" and "Who are you, Brady Quinn?" Walker doesn't know who Brady Quinn is yet, so he was getting kind of mad. He was Derek Anderson, and don't you forget it.

Quite possibly my favorite picture of Ellie to date:
Remember how a while ago I said Ellie likes to try to get stuck in everything?
Well, here's some more:

Wonder where she gets it . . .

Yep, that's little Carla, getting stuck in stuff. They really are a lot alike. They even both go to bed at the same time.

The other day I got home from work with a really bad headache. When I finally made it to the dinner table, Walker asked me: "Daddy, which head hurts, your hair or your forehead?"
Also, I never thought I'd hear myself say this at dinner: "Ellie, stop putting bread between your toes. That's bad manners." That little girl will be wearing socks to dinner from now on.

By the 4s . . .
OK, you can vote again but, this time no fighting. Which is my crowning achievement?
I've eaten 4 pounds of grapes in a weekend.
One time I had steak for 4 meals in a row.
I've eaten 14 apples in the last 4 days.

I think I killed a doctor

I packed 4 apples in my lunch today and if just one apple will keep him away, 4 probably wastes him. 2 apples down, 2 to go, and I'll probably eat 2 more at home tonight because the kids like to sneak them and take a few bites and put them back so I finish them off. I usually cut off the slobbery brown part first (yes, I did say usually . . . not always).

Well, Walker's going to be pretty upset that the Indians aren't going to the World "Serious". It was fun watching the playoffs with him. He loved it when I would say Disuke Matsuzaka and I loved to hear him try to say it back. He got the "Dice-K" part right, but then it kind of sounded like he was saying marsupial. I'll have to start getting him back into football now. When we were at Boo at the Zoo on Saturday and he was dressed as a Cleveland Brown he said, "Daddy, I thought Charlie Frye was a good thrower but he doesn't play for us anymore so now I like Derek Anderson." I told him not to get too used to that name either, though I'm sure he'll remember it forever.

Last night, shortly after Ellie went to bed, she started crying. She hasn't cried much since we moved her into her toddler bed so I went up to check on her . . .
Daddy: What's wrong, El?
Ellie (still very upset): Mommy wiped the purple off.
Daddy: Mommy wiped the purple off? That's preposterous.
Ellie: Yeah, take it out.
Daddy: Take it out of what?
Ellie: Her mouth.
Carla swears she did not wipe anything purple off of Ellie then eat it but I don't know; Ellie had no reason to lie.

Yes, I saw the comments about posting a picture. Yes, I'll try to do it soon. Hopefully before the new baby comes.

Mainly Stuff the Wife Says

Or used to say, more like. Thinking back on the 11 years that we've spent together brings to mind . . .
"I'm a tricker": You just fell for my joke, you schmuck.
"Really Super": Something can be really great or even super great, but if it's "really super" great, well, it doesn't get much better than that.
"What do you think about that?": This one basically means I'm better than you. "Oh, you're tired from football? Well, I just lifted than ran three miles so what do you think about that?"
"Seichen Sie Seuch" (for those of you who took Spanish in high school, it's pronounced Zyken zee zoik): This one's my favorite. It's Carla's own made up German word and it means whatever she wants it to mean at any given time, though it's usually an insult or a demand for quiet. If she's really mad, it's just "Seichen Sie!" but if she's really super mad, it's "SEICH!".

Also, in kid news:
Yesterday Walker was playing football with Gma K. and he said before they play he has to "break the picture". Mom finally figured out he meant he has to run through the hoop like the leopards do when they come out of the locker room so she held up a blanket for him to "break".

When Carla left for work this morning, she said, "Bye, little peanuts. I love you." Walker laughed at her and said "Bye, big peanut".

When I left for work this morning, I tried to kiss Ellie goodbye but she cried and yelled at me. I grabbed her hand and kissed it and she got mad and wiped it off. She'll love me again when she's 20, right?

Our little helpers

Walker and Ellie have both been great helpers lately. On my off-Fridays or on Saturdays when Carla's at school, I can give them jobs and they actually do them. Not only that, they get really excited when I say "It's time for Jobs!" Like if I would have said "It's time for Ice cream" or something. They get really competitive, too. They race around the house putting shoes or pillows or silly six pins away and they race back to me for their next job. It gets pretty rough sometimes but I figure, what's the big deal about a little blood on the carpet if the rest of the house is presentable? It's also fun to stand in the kitchen yelling at them like a drill sergeant. They think it's funny and I think I don't care if I sound like an idiot as long as they're cleaning.

But then . . . Ellie mopped. No big deal, right? She's seen Mommy do it like a dozen times and Daddy do it like a thousand. Except that instead of a mop she used a broom. And instead of a mop bucket she used a toilet. She and the floor were both totally soaked but she was proud of herself for "helping" so we couldn't come down on her too hard.

Walker also helped me fix the lawn mower over the weekend. On Saturday, I had him gather up some fisher price tools and come out and hammer the wheels while I cleaned the carburetor. Then yesterday, I was working on it again and he came outside with the exact same tools again and proceeded to hammer on all the wheels. Once we got it fixed, I let him drive it around a little (while I held him, of course). He's really good at it, actually, but he tries to talk to me while he's driving and I can never hear him. I was having him park us in the shed and he was saying something I couldn't make out. Then he started looking really worried and saying "Please. Please!" It turned out he was asking me to slow down and the poor little guy must have thought I wouldn't do it unless he asked nicely. Oh well, no wrecks and he parked us just fine after I eased off the throttle a little.

Time now for 'The Guy who Would Rather Watch Star Wars . . .'

I like Star Wars as much as the next nerdy engineer but I wouldn't consider myself an over-the-top fan (I am an "Over the Top" fan, though. Come on, Sly Stallone arm wrestling for the custody of his only child? Who wouldn't love that?). Anyway, back to Star Wars. I've seen all of them, even a couple in the theater, but I'm not the kind of guy who goes to the openings at midnight dressed like Boba Fett. But, for whatever reason, I had a dream last night that I was in a light-saber battle with my dad in my living room. I won. I cut both of his hands off and didn't even feel bad. The problem is, as dreams tend to go sometimes, shortly after the epic duel, I found out that it was actually Walker with his hands cut off. He didn't seem to mind too much but I was freaking out. I wrapped his little arms up in some gauze and I think I put his hands in the refrigerator so we could take him to the doctor to get them reattached - the next morning. Yeah, I was going to wait a whole day to do it. Maybe I was just too tired from the fight to take him in or maybe I was scared I'd go to jail for cutting off my son's hands. Either way, father of the year. Well, fortunately, the next morning his hands had been miraculously reattached and he had forgotten about the whole ordeal. I was really glad because I wouldn't have to tie his shoes for him for the rest of his life.

My question to you is, should I seek counseling now or is there a medication I should try first?

Walker has a girlfriend

Finally! Well, better late than never, I guess. He likes a girl in his class named Kendall because she's nice. She might be the one he plays computer with, I'm not sure. Anyway, Grandma Kandel got him started on the name thing and when I got home yesterday he said: "Dad, I like Kendall because she's nice. If I marry her, her name will be Kendall Kandel." Then he laughed ridiculously.

Also, Ellie thinks the world of herself but it's probably my fault . . .
Kurt: Ellie, are you a pretty girl?
Ellie: No Pretty girl. I'm a big girl.
Kurt: Well, are you prettier than Heidi Klum?
Ellie: No Heidi Klum! I'm a big girl. I'm pretty.

Ellie took a fall off her trike the other day and scraped up her face pretty bad.
Kurt: Oh, Ellie, you got a boo boo on your face.
Ellie: I'm still pretty.

Potty training trouble

We've been putting Ellie on the potty before her baths lately. Not really potty training, yet - just sort of pre-potty training. Usually, as soon as we sit her down, she looks up and says, "It's all gone". We used to pick her back up after she said that but quickly realized that it was, in fact, very much not all gone. Thank God for Woolite.

And a classic Walker potty training story:
It was Independence Day of 2006 and Walker had just started potty training. We were at a fire at Mom and Dad's so we were really far away from the house. I took Walker over to a tree a couple times to mark some territory, 'cause that's what you do when you're at a campfire. Well, it might not be what you do but it's what one does with a 2 year old who can't make it 100 yards to the nearest potty. Well, we finally went inside to get changed for bed and Walker had to go again (2 year old bladders are quite small). I told him to go into grandma and grandpa's bathroom and use the potty.
Walker: I want to go pee-pee on the tree, Daddy.
Daddy: No, Walker, we're inside now. Use the potty.
Walker goes to the bathroom and returns momentarily.
Walker: Daddy, I went pee-pee on everything.
He was right.

Notes and Quotes 3

Kurt: Ellie, you're a pipsqueak.
Ellie: No, Daddy. No pisqueak. (That's right, "pisqueak" - no 2nd p)
Kurt: Well, what are you then?
Ellie: I'm a blue one pisqueak.

Walker: Bye, Daddy. Have a good day and be careful.
Kurt: You too, buddy. Be good and no tackling Ellie today.
Walker - trying to get by on a technicality: Well, if we're dancing to Yankee Doodle and I bump her and she falls down, then . . . that's not really a tackle.

Ellie - in the car on the way home the other night: It's black in here, Daddy. Turn the light on for me.
Kurt: No, El, Daddy likes it dark in the car at nighttime.
Ellie: Turn the light on for me, siwwy.
Kurt: Just look out the window. Do you see the moon? (The sky was blanketed in clouds)
Ellie: I see it!
Kurt: Oh, really? What does it look like?
Ellie: Umm . . . a chip.
Kurt: Uh, you mean a potato chip?
Ellie: Yeah, a wewwo chip.

That's it! No more voting.

Oh man, we're tearing the family apart. Here's a recap of the voting:

Steph granted Grandma W her 19th amendment rights while Carla and I were still debating the issue
Stacey and Andy want to teach our children to spit at each other
We're stealing Tim and Jen's next son's name
Bryan and Robin are questioning our originality
Mom and Dad are totally jumping down Bryan and Robin's throats
I realized that Gma W named all her kids with 4 letters or less just to fit on a stocking and she manipulated at least 2 of their marriages for the same purpose (did Aunt Susie ever get a stocking? Did you just write "Sue" or was the "i" skinny enough that it didn't count?)

Grandma: You may vote. And if grandma votes count as double then Great grandma votes count as 5. I'm sure Anderson won't mind if he has to have Christmas long underwear.
Steph: Caroline is not only off the table but she's also under it - and dreaming.
Tim and Jen: I hope our next sons have the same name. They can go into the window business together.
Stacey and Andy: Keep your scary, sweaty, spitting kids away from mine.
Bryan and Robin: Start having kids soon while there's still some names left.
Mom and Dad: Call Michael Kandel

Let's Vote

Walker changed his mind this morning. He thinks he's going to get a new baby brother now. If you know Walker, you know how big of a deal that is. One time we tried to tell him that God might want him to have a little brother and he said: "NO! SISTER! ISABEL! If it's a brother, I'm gonna do something really, really bad!"

And that gets me thinking about names again:

If this next kid is a girl, we're pretty much torn between 2 names so let's put it to a vote. If we decide that we like the name you pick better than the other one, we'll take your advice.

Claire Elaine
Isabel Katherine

We're not totally sure about "Elaine" yet and I have no idea how Carla is planning on spelling Katherine so these could be a little off. Also, if you want to recommend a middle name for Claire, feel free. Also, it's pretty much gonna be Claire because I think that's just the cutest little name ever.

For a boy, we're pretty much locked into Anderson Dale but you can vote between that and Bernardo Demarcus if you want.

God is Gray

Last night Walker was telling us what he does at preschool and singing some of the songs. He said they say prayers before snack. I asked him if he remembered which prayer it was, he said, "God is gray." Then he said it for us: "God is gray, God is good . . . "

Yesterday, Walker and Grandma Lewis were at the store and she asked him what he wanted to get Ellie for Christmas. Walker said, "I think I want to get her some jewelry. Grandma, what's jewelry?"

We went to Tim and Jen's house over the weekend and Ellie and Addie sat at the little table for a while and had a conversation about Addie's Dora cup. Basically, Ellie just named all the characters she knew and Addie taught her the rest. It was really cute to see the two of them talking like big girls since they're both so young.

Also, the other day, Ellie put (thankfully, clean) underwear over her head and came in the living room saying, "I'm so pretty" (I think she thought they were a necklace) . . . Regardless, I really hope she grows out of that one . . .

Notes and Quotes 2

Ellie at the dinner table: "I need a Maaaaakin!" (napkin - if you've noticed, she yells a lot).

Walker, upset because it's hard to cut a straight line with his scissors: "Maybe my arm's too twisty."

Sometime briefly before Walker turned 3 he was enamored with Bob the Builder, which was fine. He also really enjoyed the name game, also fine. He put the two together one day - not fine. "Bob" and "Travis" went OK - but then . . .
Walker: "Muck Muck bo Buck, Bana-"
Kurt: "Walker, NO!!!!!!"
From then on, he asked permission before singing about any other Bob the Builder characters.

Notes and Quotes

The other day Carla was giving Ellie a bath and was practicing names, letters, etc.
Carla: What's your name?
Ellie: Ella
Carla: Ellie what?
Ellie: Ella Bathtub

Walker telling us what's in Alliance: "Walmart, Green Farms, the peanut restaurant, the stinky store, and Loweses"
The last 3 translated: Texas Roadhouse, TSC, which smells like dog food, and Lowes. I guess if Lowes owns something, it would be Lowes's.

A few nights later, Ellie in the bathtub again . . .
Kurt (checking on her from the other room): What'chya doing, El?
Ellie: Taking a Baaaathtub!

Also, I woke up thinking about this for some reason and it's bothering me. Maybe you can help me out. How does Snoop Dogg say "Skittles"? . . . "Skizittles" is too hard to say and if he shortens it to "Skizac" it could mean anything.

Around the World

Yesterday afternoon, I had a doctor's appt. To get there, we went down 172 to Rt. 30.

Side note: Walker is very intrigued by directions and how to get places. He has all the places we go classified as "places we turn right to get to" or "places we turn left to get to" -- (referring to the initial turn out of our driveway).

I guess I didn't realize exactly how much he paid attention to the various roads we travel to get here and there. On our way home from the doctor's I took 77S to 62 then to Broadway. When we drove by my mom and dad's house, he called to me from his car seat in that methodical tone that lets me know he is pondering something.

Walker: Mommy . . .
Me: What, buddy?
Walker: (in an exasperated voice) Why did you go all the way around the world?
Me: (smiling) I didn't, Walker. We just came home the other way.

I love the way 3-year-old brains work. Just to think that his perspective of the whole world is from our side of town to grandma Lewis' side of town makes me appreciate the innocence of childhood so much more!

Wenkle Wenkle Wenkle

We have oven mitts that kind of look like the big foam finger things you can get at ball games but without the finger. Ellie grabbed one at dinner last night and stuck her hand in it. She got this huge smile on her face and proclaimed "Arm in!" Then she started to shake it around said "Wenkle Wenkle Wenkle", which means wiggle. You had to be there but it makes me laugh every time I think about it. We had fish and rice, which Ellie loved but Walker didn't want so, instead, he had pancakes and green beans - what a combo.

Also I had my first dream about the new baby the other night. It was already born, actually I guess it was about 5 months old, and we had it dressed in a pink dress but we didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl yet. We took the baby in for its ultrasound to find out the sex. The doctor stuck the ultrasound probe down the baby's throat and told us it was a boy. We were surprised but all I said was we need to get this baby some new clothes. I think we'll stick to finding out the old fashioned way.

A red and purple preschool

It was Walker's first day of preschool yesterday and he apparently did very well. I figured it might be a finger-chewing-screaming-fit-throwing debacle but when the teacher came out to ask who was ready to walk in with her (they do it one at a time), Walker said "I am. Ellie, tell Walker to have a good day." and walked right in and started playing. His favorite things to play with were the trains and blocks and, of course, the computer. When I asked him who he played with he said "the red one and the purple one." I finally got out of him that one of his teachers had a red shirt on and one had a purple shirt. I hope he plays with some kids next time, though he's more used to adults so I'm not surprised that he spent a lot of time with the teachers. Poor Ellie, though. All she did while Walker was in preschool was wander around the house calling for him. What a lonely little girl.

Speaking of Ellie, she's only about 50/50 for taking naps anymore. Sometimes she'll stand up in her crib for over an hour just talking to herself or singing songs. It's really cute to listen to her on the monitor. One conversation she had with herself went: "No, Walker! Bad! No 'Oh my God', Walker! Time out! No 'Oh my God!'" Then Sunday, instead of napping, she just sang "time for VEGGIE TALES!" over and over again.

Is it a Labor Day?

As Kurt mentioned, our children were germ-laden "sickies" this week. On Wednesday, Walker still wasn't feeling well, so he didn't really feel like going anywhere - which means he didn't even want to go to grandma Kandel's so mommy could go to work. Remembering a few days earlier when mommy and daddy got to stay home, he pitifully asked the following question at 6:45 a.m., "Mommy, is it a Labor Day today?" After realizing where he was going with this question, I explained that I did indeed have to work. His response was a meltdown, which have been occurring quite frequently lately. Despite the sickness and temper tantrums, there have been some cute highlights from our week.

• Walker assumed that since the Brown's played last Thursday they would be playing again this Thursday. He was very excited to stay up late and watch them with Daddy. Needless to say, he was disappointed when we told him they weren't on. He was excited though when Kurt taught him how to tackle the right way, a.k.a "wrap up." He's been practicing a lot. I'm not sure if Kurt regrets this or not, as he's been blindsided a few times!

• Kurt, Walker and Ellie had a "Daddy Day" today and went miniature golfing. Walker loved it, as usual and recapped the whole big event right down to his favorite hole - #15, the one with the pipes. He asked me if I ever wanted to go to the "big people golfing" (driving range). Ellie overheard, and piped in with her desire, "Ella go big people golfing." Walker kindly told her that she would have to "grow up a little bit" before she could go.

• Speaking of growing up, Ellie is growing like a weed. When I ask her when her birthday is, she always says, "Dora cake, mommy." I've been trying to teach her to say November 12th, but she doesn't think that's as exciting as a Dora cake. When I asked her the same question this week, she just looked at me with that look that she gives so well and said, "No November 12, mommy. Dora cake!"

• We bought a toddler bed for Ellie at Toys R Us today, and while we were there, we looked at toys, of course. Ellie decided that she would like new baby dolls, a kitchen, pretend food, pots & pans, a baby stroller, a baby swing, a baby bath tub, a musical tea set and pretty much anything else that was in the little girls isle. (We'll keep you posted on how things go with the toddler bed - not sure when we're trying it yet.)

. . . Continued

Strep (streap, stroap?) throat. Boo. And if you go to Giant Eagle to get kid's chewable Tylenol and you see the Giant Eagle brand and think, "Wow, what a deal! That extra $0.40 I'll save might really come in handy some day!", remember this warning: The giant eagle brand saved their money on the packaging. All the pills are in the little plastic things with foil on the back and you have to peel the paper off to get them out, which doesn't work. Walker had to use a steak knife and scissors to finally get his pills.

Oh, yeah, and if you're confused by an earlier comment: It might be a Kandel thing or it might be a Wolfe thing (or a Wolfe and Kandel thing) but we sometimes refer to our wives as inanimate objects. Example:
Carla: Kurt, did you get the newspaper on your way in today?
Kurt: You're the newspaper.
Well, Ellie's got a cereal bowl with Dora the Explorer on it and it went down something like this:
Carla: Kurt, can you hand me Ellie's Dora bowl?
Kurt: You're a Dora bowl.
Carla: Why, thank you.

And, no, Walker didn't use a knife and scissors to get pills out. I used a knife and scissors while Walker played in traffic.

Labor Weekend

Friday: Took Walker to the Leopards game and he made it through the whole thing. One of the proudest moments for me came during the halftime band show when he looked at Carla and, quite exasperated, said, "Mom, when is football going to start again?" Good thing Dad was there, though, because by the end of the game, Walker was too tired to walk back to the car. I was too gimpy and Carla too pregnant to carry him so Dad handled it.

Saturday: Watched the decathlon with Walker. I asked him who was going to win one of the races and he said "Probably number 2." So we sat there for a while chanting "Go number 2! Go number 2!" I felt like I was potty training Walker again. Then we went to Mom and Dads for supper and found out some exciting news that I'm sure anyone who reads this knows about by now.

Sunday: Took Walker to the Indians game (Ellie had a relatively uneventful weekend). Prior to Sunday, the Indians won 7 games in a row. They also won last night, beating Johann Santana for the 5th time this year. Sunday, though, just for us, they were completely worthless. We left after the 7th inning. Walker said he didn't want to go back to an Indians game because "it was too bored." We told him we'd just take him when he got bigger and he said "Dad, when I'm bigger I'll play." Atta boy, dream big. Also went to Bob and Kay's for dinner and delicious cheese cake. We get a lot of free meals on the weekends. Then we went to Brad and Krystal's to play cards and got to talk to and see Bryan and Robin for the first time in a long time. The coolest thing, though, was when we left, I looked back in through their front window and saw Robin's head on the big screen TV. I had already seen her from inside, of course, but just thought it was funny that I could still see her so well from so far away. It's kind of like seeing the great wall of china from space, I guess.

Monday: We were going to go to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday dinner but both kids ended up getting fevers so I just went to pick it up instead. They actually got the order right for once, though, so it worked out. How are the kids? Don't know yet. They're on the way to the doctor right now. To be continued . . .

By special request . . .

Here's a picture of all of us.

It was taken by a very strange man but he did a good job. That's actually the biggest Ellie's ever smiled for a picture.

Also, 2 nights ago Ellie had a cup of milk in the kitchen and decided to put it up on the counter herself, 'cause, hey, she's seen Walker do it so that automatically means she has to try it. Yeah, she got it to the edge but then it dumped out all over her face - sort of like the trick with the bucket of water balanced on the top edge of the door. I would have taken a picture but she was near tears so I dried her off instead.

Oh yeah, you know how they say your kids grow up so fast? Well, Walker, all three years old of him, now all but refuses to take a bath. He's decided that showers better suit his sophisticated lifestyle. He also got a Leopard's shirt the other day and was pretty excited. Carla told him he could wear it to the games this season. Walker said, "But Mom, are you sure? I'm too little." Carla had to clarify - he can wear it to watch the games, not to play in them.

A few new kid sayings

Ellie
Hopefully, you can hear her smokey little baby voice in your head while you're reading . . .
May I be excused?: "My all done!"
I'd like to play with this toy alone, if you please: "MMMMINES!"
Oh, hi, Dad, how was your day?: "My mommy comes!" (she doesn't like it all that much when I'm the one that picks her up)
Asking to listen to Pop Goes the Weasel: "Pop a Weasel!"
Singing along to She'll be coming 'round the mountain: "hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh hgeh TOOT TOOT!"
When she sees something new that she doesn't quite understand: "What's this all about?" We have no idea where she came up with that one.
Trying new food: "I YIKE it!"

Walker
Anytime Ellie does something even remotely close to bad: "Spank her, Dad. Spank her. She needs a spanking."
When I tell him I'm not going to spank her: "May I have you spank her please?"
At least he knows to use his manners.

IdleWild Highlights

Yes, it's been over a week since we were there and, no, I don't remember all that much but here goes. We left last Friday afternoon for the 3 hour trip to IdleWild in PA. Carla kept the kids awake till I got home so the first half of the trip was quiet and mainly involved Carla flipping flopped heads back into position in the back seat. After they woke up and listened to "Eddie Music" for a while we stopped at a rest stop for me to stretch my back and the kids to use the potty (well, for Ellie to use her diaper). We got inside and Ellie said "My tummy hurts" right before she did what's apparently a new hobby of hers. Carla caught most of it in her hand (glad I was over looking at the map) and Ellie ate a cracker and was fine. We got to the hotel an hour later, checked in, and went straight to the park where we ate dinner then the kids rode rides for a couple hours till it got too dark.

Ellie's favorite: The "Bidycles"

Here's them driving a car:

On the ferris wheel (shortly before Ellie got up).
Walker was really nice to her, trying to get her to sit back down but she decided to try as hard as she could to rip the door open as their car crested the top of the wheel. The operator brought them around and let Ellie out. She ran over to us crying and Walker just rode the rest of the time while Ellie watched:
Just had to type something between her head and her feet so it didn't look like I cut a picture of her in half . . . Apples, Alfred from Batman, The Office, Homeland Security, Boston Baked Beans, Jeep Patriot, Born on the 4th of July and other random thooughts to take up space . . .


Next they rode the dinosaur ride, which goes up in the air all of 7 feet. Ellie didn't like that either.

We didn't even try her on the Airplanes, but Walker loved them, especially the next morning when he rode them again and figured out how to make the thing lift off the ground by pulling back the stick (our camera battery was dead by then).



And a few more I thought were cute:


Ellie had a lot more fun the next day. We went to story book forest in the morning because no rides were open yet. It was basically like going to the Akron zoo except there were mostly farm animals. I guess it was more like going to the Akron farm. They both liked it there but wanted to get back to the rides. Carla and Ellie rode a couple rides while I took Walker miniature golfing, doubtless his biggest highlight of the trip. We could have done that in East Canton . . . The kids rode some more rides and I mainly limped around to try to keep my leg loose. It was about 1 o'clock before we (and, coincidentally, everyone else in the entire park) decided to eat lunch but we managed. The kids were getting pretty tired by then but we stayed long enough for dessert, ice cream for Walker and a cookie the size of her head for Ellie, doubtless her highlight. She ate all around the outside of the cookie pretty much until she fell asleep in the stroller. Carla and Walker rode the big Ferris wheel, which he loved, while I limped a sleeping Ellie around the park 14 times. When the ride was finally over, we loaded them up and headed for home. Literally one minute after we got in the durango, Walker fell asleep. He was one very happy, very tired kid. It was a pretty quiet ride home, too.

Here I sit all broken back-ed

Sorry it's been so long. We lack the awesome power of the weally wide web at home so I can really only post at work. I haven't been at work in a while, either. Until today, I'd been pretty much laying on my living room floor reading and watching weekday afternoon TV. What happened? Well, it's a long story but somewhat humorous for everyone but me so I'll tell it.

Early Friday morning I woke up with a searing pain in my back after I rolled over in my sleep. That was it, I just rolled over with poor form, I guess. I took advil (smart) and put on a heating pad (stupid) and felt pretty good in the morning so I went to work (stupid). By noon, I was in too much pain to sit in a chair so I went home, which, for me of course, involves sitting in a chair for 45 minutes. When I got home, I took more advil (smart) and said "sure" (stupid) when Carla said "are you ready to take the kids to IdleWild?" I took more advil (less smart) and sat in the durango for 3 hours driving to PA. We learned a couple things about Ellie on the trip: She gets car sick and she hates ferris wheels. She's more and more like me every day. But more on IdleWild later, lots more, with pics and everything, I promise.

IdleWild involves a lot of walking which really hurt my leg, which is what actually hurts when you hurt your back. Something about nerves. I don't know, look it up. So, I took more Advil (bordering on Stupid). We spent the night there and got up and went back to the park for a long time and then drove back Saturday evening. A long drive after a long day of walking calls for more Advil (now very, very stupid). Your body has lots of neat ways of rejecting drugs, even the seemingly harmless ones. One of the more entertaining ways is that you just up and pass out. I, or course, passed out near a wall so the top of my head hit that and my forehead and nose hit the floor. When Carla woke me up my entire head was numb like when your leg falls asleep. She said it took a full minute to wake me up which means roughly 3 or 4 seconds but all I remembered was feeling dizzy then waking up on the floor with an aching head, back, and leg. Mom said the passing out was a reaction to a bagel I ate or something but I'm pretty sure it was the advil.

So, in my long weekend of laying on the floor, I learned a couple things:
No matter what I tell the kids, me laying on the floor means it's time to wrestle.
Hokey Pokey Elmo apparently cheers daddy up when he's sick. In my half paralyzed state, I couldn't even swat it across the room, which actually would have cheered me up.
Walker thinks I'm a total wuss - Dad, why does your back hurt? Oh I hurt it a long time ago and it just hurts sometimes now. Well, how did you hurt it the first time? Picking up a weight. It was too heavy but I tried to pick it up anyway. Oh, maybe Cory can pick up your weight for you. Because he's eighteen and he's strong. Uh, don't you think I'm strong? (Laughing) No.

A little more on vomit

Well, I spoke too soon Thursday about Ellie doing better. She woke up from her nap and I thought she was fine. I put her in her car seat and I thought she was fine. About 4 minutes from home it became quite apparent that she was not fine. No chunks this time because she hadn't eaten anything but the poor girl was literally soaked in throw up from the chest down. When she was finally done, she looked at me and, in the most pitiful little voice you could ever imagine, she said, "Daddy fix it". I, of course, felt like the worst dad ever because I had to get her home before I could fix anything so she sat strapped in her pukey car seat for another 4 minutes. Finally, I got her home, stripped, bathed and settled down and she's been much better ever since. But, of course, there was still the car seat . . .

For anyone who doesn't know, me being a pukey car seat cleaner-upper is a lot like Carla owning a pet mouse, or Mom becoming a snake handler, or Andy swimming in spiders, or Grandma Walker becoming a Sherpa, or Steph being a storm chaser, or Bill performing open-heart surgery, or Bryan judging a soggy cereal eating contest. But, to my eventual delight, I took that car seat apart, cleaned it, washed the cloth covering, and reassembled it. I liked the reassembly the best. And of course I came in and Ellie was happy and playing.

Friday, she did so good that we decided go camping with Bob and Kay and Mark and Ann down by Salt Fork. Ellie did great, Walker did not. I won't go into that too much, though, because, as they say on Friends, he went a little south of throwing up. I'll just say that there was more clean up involved. At 4 in the morning. Other than that, great weekend.

Thankfully, No Pictures This Time

Ellie was sick last night. Really, really sick. She started crying for Mama shortly after midnight. For some reason I (Kurt) was still awake reading, which is rare for me when I have work the next day. Also rare, because she's very good at getting herself back to sleep, I decided to go check on her. She started gagging as soon as I got to her room and, as soon as I picked her up, she started to, well . . . you know, all over my shoulder/back/leg. She, well . . . you knowed 3 more times after that. I did 2 loads of laundry (chunks dissolve, right?) while Carla comforted Ellie. She's better today but still running a fever.

We thought it best to keep Ellie away from Walker so she didn't give the flu back to him - he just had it last weekend - so today, I sit in the basement at Bob and Kay's while Ellie sleeps. I was thinking about throwing in a movie but the selection here is less than desirable. I could watch Saw, Saw II, Saw III (I hate those kinds of movies), Princess Diaries 2, 13 Going on 30, Miss Congeniality 2, Glitter, or Mean Girls. Yes, Glitter, and remember, these are movies that they actually own. Well, I guess I'll clean up a little and then either play a round of Wii golf or watch The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants for the 7th time.

We have a daughter too . . .

I feel bad because we usually just write about Walker. We'll write about Ellie a lot more once she starts saying funny things. For now, a few cute things she does:

Whenever she gets really excited, she throws both arms up in the air and yells, "ELLAAAAA!"
Says, "Mommy hold you" or "Nuggles" whenever she wants to be held/snuggled.

Tries her best to get stuck in anything and everything.

Wrinkles her nose when she's happy, sad, sleepy, hungry, or pretty much any other emotion:

Really, really likes apples (daddy's girl)

Anatomy Issues

Walker and I(Carla) were sitting at the kitchen table reading the Sunday paper and having a snack. He was looking at the ads when he looked up and initiated the following conversation:
Walker (seeking some reassurance): Mommy . . . Ellie's a girl so she can have the same thing you have.
Carla: What same thing, Walker?
Walker: You know, on your belly.
Carla: A baby?
Walker: No . . . (thinking how to explain) . . . Let me see up your belly and I'll show you.
Carla (really perplexed): Okay.
Walker (proceeds to lift up my shirt and point to my bra): See, that.
Carla (smiling): Ohhhh . . . Yes, Ellie can have one of those when she gets bigger.
Walker: But boys don't.
Carla: You're right, they don't. Who told you this, Walker?
Walker: Grandma Kandel
Carla: (thinking to myself) I'll have to talk to Grandma Kandel and see what else she's been telling you :)

After our little chat was over I was wondering what sparked this thought to begin with. Low and behold, as I looked down to the ads Walker was flipping through, the JCP one was opened to the bra and underwear page!

Indians and Cheerios

Walker's really into sports lately but he's still having trouble getting them all straight in his mind. Last night we were listening to the Indians game and Ryan Garko singled in a run. A delighted Walker yelled, "Yeah, Garko! You're really tackling C. C. Sabathia!" I thought about trying to explain but decided it would be too hard. Sabathia wasn't even pitching. I just smiled to myself as I pictured Garko jumping the bullpen wall and blindsiding his teammate.

That reminds me of another funny Walker story: A couple weeks ago, Carla had Walker and Ellie at the grocery store. Walker was looking at all the food and asked Carla: "Mom, hey mom, mom, mom . . . do I like these Cheerios with meatballs?" When Carla looked down she saw he was pointing at a can of Spaghetti-Os (she bought 'em, he liked 'em). I wonder why that's never been tried, though. There's all kinds of cereal/meat possibilities . . . Corn flakes and brisket, Count Shrimpula, honey bunches of meatloaf, couscous puffs. Hey, couscous isn't a meat, it's small granules from semolina flour rehydrated and typically served with meat or fish. Yeah, I know, served with meat, so it counts.

Also, Ellie had her first haircut last night and was so tired that she actually sat still for it. Missy kind of braided her hair when she was done and Ellie looked in the mirror and said "Pretty girl". She did look cute. I'll post a picture when I get the chance.

I got the chance. I never said she liked it.

The Weekend

Usually by halfway through Monday I can't remember what we did over the weekend anymore but I'll give it my best.

Friday: Bob and I went out in the morning to get the rest of the rubber mulch for the kids' little swingset/playground area. We spent the rest of the day getting ready to have Stacey and Andy and Kyle and Keely over for dinner and a fire. We had a nice time sitting around the fire and didn't find out till the next day that we were out there in the middle of a tornado warning. We live too far away to hear the sirens so I guess our only warning will be someone saying, "Man, it sure is getting windy out here . . . AAAHHHhhh!

Saturday: Carla and I took the kids for a walk in the morning from Metzger Park to her mom and dad's house. It's about 3 mile but we're studs, we can handle it. Then we took Walker to see Ratatouille. As soon as we sat down Walker said he didn't want to watch it. I think he was scared of the giant people and rats on the screen. It was a pretty rough experience overall. Walker sat through it, which was good, but the popcorn tasted like buttery Rolaids and I'd give the movie itself about a French onion dip on Bryan's scale.

Sunday: A vocal group called Myrrh came to our church and vocalized. They were much better than I expected and have an amazing testimony. They even had a bluegrass album which I bought and found to be pretty good. Then, off to Bob and Kay's for Lisa's birthday party. It was fun 'cause there's always lots of people there who play with the kids so Carla and I got to lounge in the pool for like 45 minutes and just talk. Haven't gotten to do that in a while. Also, to be true to the "stuff the kids say" theme, when we got home last night, I gave Ellie one of my harmonicas and she started "playing" like she does sometimes. Then, out of nowhere, she stopped and said "I got the balloon". She meant "blues" 'cause Walker and I do that sometimes. It was pretty cute.

Huh, I guess I did pretty good remembering.

Lesson Learned

You know that trick you can play on sleeping people where you stick their hand in warm water? Well, I found out it works on Ellie, too, even when she's wide awake. Especially if she's reaching into the warm bathtub water. Especially if she's naked. Especially if she's straddling my foot.

Hamfeet

Walker loves watching Curious George. One day while watching, he and Carla had an interesting conversation. I think it went sort of like this:
Walker: Mom, why does George have hamfeet?
Carla: What?
Walker: Why does George have hamfeet?
Carla: What are hamfeet?
Walker: You know, hamfeet.
Carla: What?
Walker takes off his socks, then in his condescending, just-try-to-understand-this tone: Mom, Mom. Look at my feet. I don't have hands on my feet. George has hands on his feet. Hamfeet.

Move forward about 4 or 5 months to yesterday. I laid out 2 pairs of his underwear (or 4 underwears) side-by-side on the floor to let him pick which ones he wanted to wear.
Kurt: Walker, which ones do you want, white with gray or white with blue?
Walker: Is this the white one?
Kurt: Well, that one's white with gray.
Walker: No, the white one.
Kurt: Those are white with gray. The other one's are white with blue. Which ones do you want?
Walker: No, is this the WHITE one!?
Kurt: I give up.
Walker, the gears grinding in his little brain: Dad, against left.
Kurt: Oh, the RIGHT one?
Walker: Yeah, white (geez, my parents are simple).
They were, and he picked them, not because they were white and gray, but because they were on the white (right).

Dropping Food and Bouncy Pretzels

Kids, funny. Food, delicious. Kids + Food, deliciously funny.

A couple months before Walker turned 3, he got the flu for the first time. He didn't know what throwing up was yet, so his first experience was, to me, both heartbreaking and thoroughly entertaining. He had been sleeping for about an hour when I heard this pitiful cry and saw him coming down the stairs looking very confused. I asked him what was wrong and, after he thought about it for a few seconds, he said, "I dropped some food in my bed." I had no idea what he was talking about until I walked into his room. Poor guy. I felt so bad but had to laugh.

Also, Motts' (http://www.mottsgreenhouse.com/, yeah, who knew they had a web page?), has these delicious pretzels that look like mini donut holes. I had Walker there one off-Friday and he was looking around and said, "Hey Dad, look at these bouncy pretzels."