Bruised heads and egos

Yesterday afternoon Walker called me at work and very calmly told me, "Daddy, Anderson bumped his head on the toy box and it's kind of an emergency so Grandma's coming over to look at it because she's a nurse so she can tell mommy if she needs to take him to the doctor to get his boo boo fixed. He took 10 or 15 steps and that's why he hit his head. Mommy just wanted you to know."

Turned out to be an accurate story. Anderson split his head open near his right eyebrow. They butterfly stitched it and he forgot all about it. That should be his first of many many scars. Oh, wait, his second. He also broke the glass jar that held one of Carla's candles and cut his finger on that.

Carla, trying to explain to Ellie why one little girl in her class needs a teachers' aid: Well, her brain's just a little bit different and she needs someone to help her.
Ellie: Why is she a little bit different?
Carla: That's just he way God made her.
Ellie: Oh, like Daddy. He's a little bit different.
Carla, through tears of laughter: Oh, yeah? Why's that, Ellie?
Ellie: Well, that's just the way God made him. The other day when we were putting Anderson to bed, he thought he had a frog in his throat.

Oh, that reminds me, the other day Ellie told me her throat hurt (not because it hurt but because Walker had just gotten over his sore throat) and I told her to let me look at it. She said OK and pulled her shirt up to her chin.

I'd be losing all kinds of points in Oregon Trail

Carla called me at work yesterday and told me Walker has Scarlet Fever. Back in Oregon Trail days, he'd be in a lot of trouble because I'd have picked to be a carpenter instead of a doctor. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Who cares if a wagon wheel breaks? Family members dying is worse when you finish. Also, I've been unsuccessful hunting, yet again. Not even a squirrel or a rabbit. And, the other day, I tried to fjord a river on my own instead of paying a trusty indian guide. Needless to say, that didn't work out very well.

Well, Walker really does have scarlet fever, anyway, but, apparently it's not as big of a deal today as it used to be. Some antibiotic will have him going again soon. Actually, he's feeling better already and has only been sick for 2 days. Now we just have to avoid dysentery and cholera. And high water. I think if we keep eating the max and resting often we should be in good shape. Though I wish I had purchased two more oxen. Oh well, that's what I get on a carpenter's salary.

Uh oh, they're getting smart

Ellie: Daddy, why do toothpicks get food out of your teeth? Because God made the world?

She finally figured out the shortcut to my ultimate answer to every kid question. I usually try to explain things but after a half dozen "why"s, I always end up back at "because god made the world." Good job, miss Jane.

Me: Hey Walker, if you get 4 cookies and Ellie gets 4 cookies and i get 4 cookies, how many is that total?
Walker, less than 2 seconds later: 12

Anderson added Truck and Ball to his vocabulary. Also, next time you're holding him, chew some gum. He loves watching people blow bubbles and he'll even pucker his lips and stick out his tongue when he wants you to do it. Very cute.

Bye.

And happy birthday Mr. Anderson

Anderson's 1 year old today. He still mainly crawls but he did take his first steps a couple weeks ago but I don't know exactly when (such the third child. Had he been the first, I'd not only have posted what day and time he took them, I'd also undoubtedly have learned how to upload video on this thing. Oh well.). Let's see, he now says Mama, Dada, Bye-bye, and Nana (banana). He says bye-bye a lot when he's looking at me. He might think it's my name or he might just think I'm always leaving, which I usually am. He also waves and says bye-bye pretty much whenever anyone gets near a door. He loves cars and trucks and he got lots of them for his birthday. He also likes giving gross kisses by slobbering all over our faces. He even crawls up to other babies and does it. Isaac's afraid of him because of it. Hmm . . . what else? Oh, little people, he loves little people (the toys, not the midgets) and he also likes a couple books. He's very particular about them. If I take out a book he doesn't like, he continually closes it or swats it out of my hand but if I get "where is baby's belly button" or "listen peter rabbit" he smiles and laughs and lets me read at least half of it before he hits it.

The other day I was talking to Walker about the Browns. He told me he wishes it was 2007 again so the Browns could be good.
Me: Yeah, me too. And guess what happened in the Bills game. Brady Quinn broke his finger.
Walker: OFF?!?

Happy Birthday, Miss Ellie!

I just called Ellie from work to wish her a happy birthday. Carla knew it was coming so she let Ellie answer.
Ellie: Hi.
Me: Hi, is this Ellie?
Ellie: Yeah.
Me: Hi, Ellie, it's Daddy. Happy Birthday!
Ellie: Happy birthday.
Me: Umm . . . So, do you feel like a big three-year-old now?
Ellie: Yeah.
Me: Are you wearing the birthday crown Grandma got you?
Ellie: Good.

We let her get her ears pierced for her birthday this year. She was pretty excited about it till we told her that it would feel like a little pinch when they pierced them. For the next couple of days leading up to the piercing she kept saying that she didn't want to do it - "I don't want the pinch." Well, we made her do it anyway because we wanted her to be afraid of birthdays forever. She cried for a couple minutes but then she was fine and she really likes her earrings. Daddy's still on the fence.

Walker woke up at 6:55 this morning and came out of the room crying.
Carla: What's wrong, buddy?
Walker: I don't like to wake up in the high sixes.
Carla: Why?
Walker: Because it wastes my day.

Then, later: Mom, do I have to take a nap today since I woke up in the high sixes?

Spectatorial (an editorial about being a spectator)

It's fun watching the kids when they don't know it and just seeing them be kids. Ellie likes cooking in her kitchen, changing her baby dolls' clothes and diapers, and singing them songs. Sometimes they're songs we've taught her and sometimes they're just random words strung together nonsensically. Sometimes they're not even words at all, sort of like she's speaking in tongues. I guess she can at least get in to apostolic Heaven.

Anderson loves cars. He sits and rolls them around and supposedly can even make some car noises, although I still haven't heard them. He also likes bashing his head into the floor really hard for some reason. It's funny because he can go from a sitting position to hitting his head on the floor just by leaning forward. It's scary because, well, he's bashing his head on the floor.

Walker plays football constantly, either with someone or by himself. When he's playing by himself, though, he commentates. The other day I watched him throw (oops) himself a pass, catch it and run toward the end zone. The commentary went like this: "He catches it, past the tackle, steptoe, touchdown!
I said, "Steptoe?"
His reply: Yeah, that's when you step on some one's toe. But it's not a penalty.
Me: Where'd you hear of that?
Walker: From the NFL. Cleveland Browns.

Walker told me he wanted peanut butter and jelly for breakfast one morning and I thought I'd have some fun with him.
Me: Did you say tuna fish and jelly?
Walker, smiling: NO!
Me: Oh, you want peanut butter and tuna fish, then?
Walker: NO!
Me: OHHH . . . You want Tuna Butter and Jelly Fish!
Walker, laughing at me like I'm an idiot: No, Dad, people don't eat jelly fish. Only leatherback sea turtles do.

The daddy weekend

I had the kids alone all weekend while Carla went on a much-deserved trip to Amland to scrap book with some of friends (because, if you're going to scrap book, you better drive 50 miles and get a hotel room . . .). Some of the highlights were:

• Ellie crying for mommy at lunch on Saturday because I yelled at her for acting like she was going to punch me for yelling at her for not eating her food.
• Ellie crying for mommy before bed time because she couldn't find her purple care-bear
• Walker crying before bed time because Ellie was crying
• Getting up at 5:30 Sunday morning to make it to church by 2 till 9 only to find out that I should have been there at 8:45 because I had baby-sitting duty. (Next time I'll listen to Walker when he tells me he can't wait for me to be his teacher in sunday school, even if I had no idea I was supposed to).
• Anderson crying for 1/2 hour after he woke up from his nap after church because, well, he's a baby and that's what they do, I guess. Except for when Mommy's home.

But actually, we all had a lot of fun. It was a nice weekend so we spent a lot of time on the trampoline and swing set (even Anderson - he loves the trampoline). We also watched a lot of football and Ellie and I made a (real) pizza together. I let her do everything from mixing the dough to helping spread it on the pan to putting sauce, cheese, etc. on it. She smashed the pepperoni down into the dough really hard and got sauce everywhere but she had fun. Then she refused to eat it at lunch and ended up crying (see above). Oh well.

Ellie and I also had a breakfast date on Sunday morning. I said that, on a breakfast date, we're supposed to eat cereal and talk about politics, so I asked her who she liked better, Barack Obama or John McCain.
Ellie: Barack Obama. I like Walker's team.

Also, thanks very much to the parents and in-laws for watching the kids a little so I could meet Carla for dinner on Sat. night and clean the house on Sunday afternoon.

Me, in sunday school because we were playing number games: What's 6 plus 2?
A nameless kid in the class: Nine!
Walker: No, It's 8! I know football scores. A touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Same nameless kid: [My name] rhymes with [something that's kind of close but doesn't actually rhyme]
Walker, to the kid: You don't know anything.
We had a talk about that one.

From a few weeks ago:
Ellie, from the kitchen: Daddy, I spilled my water!
Me: Do you need new clothes?
Ellie: Well, my pants are a little bit spilly.

Carla asked Ellie what she wanted to drink one morning and Ellie told her apple juice. Carla then finished up getting the food ready and asked Ellie again because she didn't hear her the first time or forgot.
Carla: What did you say you wanted to drink?
Ellie: Apple juice! How many times do I have to say you?

Who's Rocco Botta?

That's what Walker asked Carla one day a month or so ago. Carla eventually figured out what he was asking and said, "Oh, you mean Barack Obama. He's a guy that wants to be our president." To which Walker immediately replied, "What about John McCain?!?"

I had a dream last night that Obama came to our house for dinner and Carla and I and a few friends sat and talked with him for an hour or so. I eventually dream-told him that I didn't like McCain because he isn't conservative enough and then Obama wouldn't really talk to me anymore. That was too bad. He's a nice guy in a dream.

Last night when I got home, Ellie came running up to me with a big, very excited smile on her face and said, "Daddy, I took a nap today and I get to stay up but Walker didn't take a nap and he has to go to bed early. But I took a nap so I can stay up late! Hi."

Anderson's had one tooth for about 3 weeks now. Stuff he's eaten since (and maybe a little before) he got his first tooth: noodles, cheerios, mashed potatoes, bananas, baked apples, peas, pizza, meatloaf, chicken, quesadillas, stir fry . . . We keep giving him solid food and he keeps not choking so I guess he's doing ok. He can also say 'Dada' and 'hi' now (although 'hi' sounds more like 'ha') so that brings him up to 4 words that I know of, the other 2 being 'mama' (or mamamamamamama) and 'bye-bye' with a big wave. By Walker's count, though, I think he's at 96 words because Walker counts every time Anderson says anything that even resembles a word, even if it's a repeat.

Oh, big day. This is post 100.

Umm . . . Pimples and Jesus, I guess

Walker asked Carla what a little red bump on his hand was. Carla said it was probably just a pimple. Walker's response: "NO! I don't like pimples! Don't squeeze it, don't tweezer it, just let it go! It'll get better, Jesus will heal it!" That kid's in for a rough adolescence.

Last Friday, I took all 3 kids into church to drop something off or pick something up . . . I forget. Anyway, when we got there, the good Pastor got to talking with Walker.
Pastor: You like football, don't you?
Walker: Yeah.
Pastor (I'll have to paraphrase this): Well, I'll bet you're a really good football player. And you know, some day when you're grown up and you're playing for the Cleveland Browns, I just hope you can remember how much you love God and how much you love your church so that you can tell all your friends on your team. Do you think you can remember how much you love God and Jesus and tell them about it?
Walker, with a non-committal shrug: That's . . . a lot of words . . . And it's a long time.

Also, a big thank you to Duffy. Until I heard her for the first time, I wasn't sure who would be my least favorite singer of the decade. In case you're wondering, I'll go back a few decades for you:
2000's____Duffy
1990's____Cher
1980's____Cher
1970's____Cher
1960's____Sonny and Cher

Couch beds and mammalian moral codes

Walker's had a habit of waking up and coming downstairs in the middle of the night ever since Ellie was born. He used to try to get in bed with us or wake us up and we'd usually take him back up to his bed, which he never liked. Older and wiser, he now simply makes himself a bed on the couch so he doesn't have to go back up. The other morning, after he woke up from his self-made couch bed . . .
Me: What are you doing on the couch?
Walker: My bed was being a bad bed.
Me: Why?
Walker: It was making me uncomfortable.
Me: Well, did you put it in time out?
Walker: No . . . I can't carry it.

Sunday morning I was walking Walker and Ellie into church.
Walker: Daddy, why do you have to lock the door?
Me: So nobody can get in our car and steal it.
Walker: But they know they're not supposed to steal things.
Me: Well, sometimes people make bad choices and steal things anyway.
Ellie: Puppies don't steal things.

Anderson's first tooth finally popped through. Now he thinks he can eat anything - including the other babies in the nursery at church. He always crawls over to them and tries to swallow their faces. Such a little bully.

I know what you're gonna say

You: Dude, where have you been? You haven't posted in like forever.
Me: I know, I'm sorry. I've been busy.
You: Too busy to take 5 minutes to immortalize your childrens' childrenhood?
Me: Well, I'm in school again, and it's really busy at work an-
You: Whatever. You know, I don't even check your blog anymore.
Me: I said I was sorry, ok? I'll try to post more often.
You: Whatever.
Me: What? Do you want me to quit my job and drop out of school so I can spend all my time writing?
You: Why can't you just post before you go to bed or something?
Me: No internet at my house. You know that. I complain about it all the time. I can only post at lunch time from work and I haven't had too many lunch times lately.
You: Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me. What else have you been up to besides not posting?
Me: I just told you.
You: Hgch. Ouch! Ah, crap! I just swallowed a marble.
Me: What? Why were you chewing on a marble?
You: That's my thing. It's what I do. Now I have to find a new marble.
Me: Umm, well, you could just wait until tomorrow at about this time . . .
You: That's gross. Don't talk to me anymore. Do you think the Browns will start Quinn this Sunday?
Me: . . .
You: Oh, real mature. Seriously.
Me: No, they'll stick with Anderson and they'll probably win a few games and they won't fire Romeo Crennell and they'll be mediocre for the next 3 years. Then just bad. Seriously, why do you chew on marbles?
You: My mom told me it would help me stop chewing on my nails when I was a kid and it just became habit.
Me: Your mom told you to chew on marbles when you were a kid? Was she trying to choke you?
You: I don't think so. No. Well . . . I guess that might explain why she kept spare anti-freeze in the fridge right beside the Ecto Cooler.
Me: I think there might be some issues there.
You: Yeah, well, that's a whole 'nother topic.
Me: A "whole 'nother"? Where'd you go to school?

Oh, that reminds me of a couple mis-sayings I've been hearing around work lately:
1. "Well, really it's six or a dozen."
2. "I don't want to beat this horse to death."

Walker and I went to the football game last Friday while Carla, Ellie, and Anderson went to friends' house for a camp fire. During half-time, the opposing team's band director was directing quite emphatically.
Walker: Dad, what's he DOING?
Me: Who?
Walker: That man doing the crazy things!

Also at the game, Walker: Dad, what's bigger, a hippo or a hippopotamus?
Me: They're the same thing. A hippo is a hippopotamus.
Walker: You mean like two words that mean the same thing?
Me: yep.
Walker: Oh, well, I like hippopotamus better because the potamus is funny.

And on the way home from the game:
Walker: Dad, you know when the leopards beat ravenna 29-15? How did Ravenna get 15? Did they get a touchdown and an extra point and then get another touchdown and miss the extra point and then get a safety? (yes, he seriously said that and yes, he's seriously 4).
Me: No, I think they got a two point conversion.
Walker: OH! (and then he nodded and smiled at me like 'that sounds much more feasible, why didn't I think of that?) So touchdown, extra point, touchdown, two point conversion?
Me, still amazed that he even remembered the score to the first game of the season: Yep.

Walker, to Carla, yesterday on a car ride: Mom, are Jesus and God the same bigness?

Ellie, mainly to herself, yesterday on the same car ride: Hey! Guess what frogs have? They have frog feet. So they can hop. AND, they can ribbit, like 'ribbit, ribbit, ribbit.' And they ribbit with their mouths.

Also, Anderson has been able to crawl for a few weeks now and he can say Mama, Dada, and bye-bye. But still no teeth.

Thing # 102 to do with a dead cat . . .

Bury it in the woods. It crawled under our sliding board sometime Monday and died (I maintain that I had absolutely nothing to do with it). Luckily, Kyle and Keely saw it before the kids did and warned us. I dug a hole in the woods and dumped the cat in. If I remember tonight, I'll dump a jar of pepper on top so nothing digs it up. Not the first cat I've buried at our house. Won't be the last.


In other news, we briefly had a dog. It showed up at our house a few days ago (we get a lot of dogs dropped off out there) and decided it was going to live there now. I couldn't chase it off no matter how much I yelled or what I threw at it. It was such a nice, quiet dog and so good around the kids that Carla considered keeping it. Walker was all for that, too. They even gave it a temporary name, "Scruffy," because it was obvious that it hadn't eaten in quite a while so it was really shaggy. So Carla called it Scruffy, Walker called it "Scarfy," and Ellie called it "Dog-o". I called it lots of things but I can't write any of them. In the end, we decided that it would be better for Kyle and Keely to take it and wait a little while before we get a dog of our own. Good looking dog, though. I have a picture of it, as well. I think I'll have to post a bunch of pictures soon.

In other other news, I was at Walmart early Saturday morning getting some milk when I heard, "clip, clip, clip." (Stacey or Steph, help me... how do you punctuate with quotation marks? is it "words". or "words." ? I also need help w/ commas) Anyway, sure enough, I looked over and there was a guy standing in the middle of the isle, clipping his finger nails - just letting them fly any which way. When he was done, he quietly put away his clippers and got right back to restocking the butter.

Next on my reading list . . .

http://www.amazon.com/101-Uses-Dead-Simon-Bond/dp/0517545160

There was a cat that Walker used to always see when he got out of the car at preschool but it wasn't there on Tuesday when he went in for his open house. Carla told me that much when I got home and then had Walker fill in the rest. She told him to tell me what he thinks happened to the cat. With a shrug he said, "Died up to Jesus Heaven."

I guess when he didn't see it, he matter-of-factly told Carla, "Huh, the cat must have died and goed up to heaven. Maybe there's a cat Jesus."

And, If I wasn't before, I'm definitely a yuppie now. For my birthday, Ellie got me some fancy whole-bean coffee and Walker got me a coffee press. They were both really excited to give them to me, even though they probably have no idea what any of it was. Walker also made me a new fishing lure. I'll have to post a pic, it's pretty cute . . .

Basagna

That's what Ellie had for lunch yesterday. She also still says "popstickle," "bistickle," "aminals," and "ife."

Walker: Mommy, is Ohio in the middle?
Carla: Umm, yeah, it's pretty close to being in the middle.
Walker: So . . . it's on the Equarium?
Carla: You mean the Equator? No, Ohio's in the middle of America and the Equator's in the middle of the world.
Walker: So the top of America is cold and the bottom of America is hot and the middle is like Ohio, right?

Ellie walked into the bathroom and grabbed some makeup out of Carla's drawer.
Kurt: Ellie, why do you have makeup?
Ellie: Because I'm so beautiful.
Then she took the powder thing out and smeared it ear to ear, right across her mouth.

Falling rocks and dripping noses

A week or two ago, as soon as I walked in the door after work . . .
Walker: Daddy, there's some sad news about Utah.
Me: What?
Walker: You know that rock that looks like a fish whale? It fell down and split in half.
(http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/10/arch.collapse.ap/index.html)

Ellie's been struggling with allergies or something lately and she's been really stuffy so we haven't been giving her much milk.
Me, after she asked for some: No, milk makes your nose runny.
Ellie: Why does apple juice don't?

And then there's Walker again, who's also had allergies: I don't like Zyrtec. Can you buy the other purple medicine from Walmart?
Carla: No. Dr. Motz said Zyrtec.
Walker: How about that one that sounds like "tin" or "tic"?
Carla: Claritin?
Walker: Yeah. Can you talk to me about Claritin?

And finally, Walker, after watching a commercial on TV: How crazy is this? Something is 7 bucks for kids and 12 bucks for grownups. What's a buck?
Carla: A dollar.
Walker: Oh, so kids are on sale.

Also, I've finally fulfilled my life long dream of batting against a major league pitcher (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8331). Well, sort of. I batted against him in 1999 in a high school game and he didn't throw in the Majors till this year but I still think that makes me a little famous. I'm sure he's telling all his buddies out in the bullpen about how he once pitched to me . . . and about how he was first team all NBC as a sophomore. By the way, I popped out to the third baseman to end the inning but that still means I'm a better matchup to him than Rich Aurillia. And at least he didn't strike me out, Barry Zito.

Told you there'd be lots of pictures

Anderson's first solid food

Us leaving for our trip to the zoo and children's museum.

Walker in the climbing wall. That thing was pretty cool, like a vertical maze.

Ellie in the water works area.

More climbing. I put the camera on the ground to take this one of Ellie. She was about 2 feet in the air.

Fun in a Mini.

A couple pics from the zoo.


And here's us on the way home.

Anderson eating his first piece of toast.

Our trip to the Indians game.

Walker was excited.

Ellie was too . . .

At first . . .

Then not so much.




A couple cool shots of the current Cy Young favorite.

Then we went to an Aeros game. Ellie did much better at this one.

80's Glam Ellie? I really don't know what's going on here.

And the rest are all Anderson being cute.

There can be miracles

I tried all week to get a chance to post pics but it didn't happen. Here's a couple sayings to get us through the weekend, then pics next week. Lots. I promise.

Carla and Ellie playing grocery store:
Carla: How much does this cost?
Ellie: Umm, three much.
That's one more than too much, I guess.

Walker and I played us a mean game of baseball the other day. Afterwords . . .
Walker: Daddy, my team's name is the Utah Fireworks.
Kurt: Oh, OK, then I'm the San Diego Destroyers.
W: Where's San Diego?
K: In California
W: Hey! That means we're close to each other.
K (amazed at my 4 yr old's geographical aptitude): Wow, yeah, you're right.
W: If Nevada wasn't in the states, we'd be beside each other.

Walker: Daddy, it's a miracle when Anderson eats or drinks his milk or whatever you call it and when he sleeps.
Kurt, finally thinking I'm going to be able to teach my son something: Well, it's not really a miracle when he eats or sleeps because a miracle is something we can't do by ourselves, only with God's help.
Walker: No, it's a miracle when he eats and sleeps.
Kurt: Oh, yeah, I guess so, because that's something we can't do but God helps babies do it.
Walker: Yeah, because we drink from a cup and Anderson drinks from Mommy's belly things.

Stop me if you've heard this one . . .

Because I can't remember if I posted this before. I just found it written on a sheet of paper while I was cleaning out a junk drawer. Ellie was on the back porch playing and she pointed toward the propane tank on the grill.
Ellie: Daddy, what's the black fing and that white fing?
Kurt: Where?
Ellie: On that fire fing that you cook supper on.

In more recent news . . . I was getting Ellie ready for church on Sunday morning (after Carla bailed on me to go for a stroll with her friends and enjoy some hall of fame festivities). I put on her dress and she looked at me and said, "Where's my pantie toes?"

Walker, after some deep thinking in the car: Who's bigger than who: The Incredible Hulk or Jesus?

Oh, also, last Sunday (the Sunday before I was abandoned by my wife and left alone to prepare 3 kids, 1 pot of coffee, 1 snack of raisin cookies, and 1 4-5K Sunday school lesson for church - and I got them all there in one piece and on time, thank you) I took Walker to the Streets' lake house at Mohawk to hang out with the youth group. He and Micah and Addie and a bunch of youth were all sort of wrestling around in Cory's room and, you know how when Walker gets excited and competitive he says things like "OH, YEAH, BABY!"? Well, that doesn't translate so well into a bedroom. He said to one of the youth girls: "Oh, Yeah! Get up on the bed with me, baby!"

A couple Biblical truths from Ellie

Walker got in trouble yesterday for pushing Anderson. I told him he was making bad choices and I wasn't happy with him.
Ellie to Walker, in her motherly tone: That means God doesn't love you!

Later, she was looking at Walker's train table which has a lake and an ocean on it. "This is the ocean and this is the Red Sea. And God's people can open it up and they can be safe. And the mean guys can't be safe. And the mean guys don't like God or Jesus."

Man Work

Walker: Dad, can we change the oil in the Jeep today?
Me: No, it doesn't need changed but you can help me rotate the tires on the Durango.
Walker: Okay!
Ellie: Can I help?
Walker: No, Ellie. This is man work. It's too dirty for you. You have to stay inside and clean the house.

By the way, contrary to the rumors that have recently been circulating, the Jeep is alive and well. It hit a rough patch when the gear box went out but Brad and I revived it and it made a full recovery. However, I do owe Brad a new workbench, vice, and 2 new 1/2" ratchet extensions that I snapped while I was torquing on the new Pitman arm nut. Oh well, the Jeep's running like it used to again and, who knows? 250,000 miles is right around the corner . . .

In other news, Walker tied his shoes all by himself for the first time today, the right way and everything. He was apparently super excited because we had told him that if he practiced enough he might be able to do in a few months. Along with lots of hugs and giggles, he said, "See, Mom? I didn't have to wait till the end of summer!"

Ellie's been really into cooking at her kitchen lately. She runs over and says, "I'm Rachel Ray," then proceeds to cook all kinds of weird food. The other day, she brought me an orange cheer leading pom pom in a mixing bowl.
Me: What did you make today, Ellie?
Ellie: Chocolate Spaghetti Brownies.

And Anderson . . . Well, he's been scooting all over the place and he finally learned how to feed himself his puffs yesterday.
1. Grab puff in fist
2. Put whole fist in mouth
3. Wait for puff to dissolve
4. Remove fist from mouth
5. Repeat until gone, then do the hungry, wheezy laugh that means 'More please'.

SPA - the latest in satellite technology

When we went to PA last weekend, we borrowed my mom's GPS. Walker and Ellie were fascinated with it. There were lots of questions, so we basically explained that it was like a map on a little computer and it would tell us how to get to Pittsburgh. About 20 minutes in the trip, Walker broke a peaceful silence with a worried tone.

Walker: Daddy, Daddy . . .
Kurt: What?
Walker: You're NOT paying attention to the SPA.
Kurt: What?
Walker: The SPA.
Kurt and Carla: The what?
Walker: THE SPA! You know, the thing that tells you where to go!

A new early readers' book

See Ellie.

See Ellie's long hair.

See Ellie bend over to take her pants off to go potty.

Hair in the toilet!

Skibbits

While we were on the way back from our trip, we stopped at Bob Evans for supper.
Carla: Ellie, do you want mashed potatoes, yes or no?
Ellie: Skibbits

Walker (over and over and over again): Are we in Pittsburgh or Pennsylvania?
Kurt and/or Carla: We're in both. We're in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
Walker: No . . . no, I think we're in Pennsylvania.
Ugh.

Ellie's favorite part of the vacation - seeing the "aminals" at the zoo. Her favorite animal - kitty cats.
Walker's favorite part - sliding down the bowling alley slide at the children's museum. It was a slide that looked like a bowling lane. It was also incredibly fast.

I'll post pictures when I get the chance - probably February.

Well . . . kind of soon

Walker on his first tee ball team, the Bees. He loves diving for the ball and catching high pops. In my completely biased opinion, he's definitely one of the better athletes on the team.

Anderson laying around and smiling, like usual. He's starting to reach for people and things a lot more now, also eating his first solid foods - Cheerios and baby fruit puffs. He also spits non-stop. Not the gross spit up kind of spit, the gross buzzing his lips together kind of spit. Either way, the front of his shirt is usually soaked.

Walker loves it when we have storms because he thinks our power will go out every time (whereas, it actually only goes out about 80% of the time). He thinks that every time the power goes out, it means he gets to have a sleep over in a tent on the living room floor. He told me the other day that he prayed to Jesus that the power would go out but it didn't. He must be getting a little frustrated now because we heard him praying again in the back of the car when we were driving somewhere: "Dear Jesus. This is the last time I'm going to pray to you for the power to go out. So please make the Power GO OUT! OK? . . . I still love you very much. Amen."

Ellie: Daddy, we're not the samest.
Me: We're not?
Ellie: You're a boy and I'm a girl so we're not the samest. Walker and Anderson are boys so they're the samest as you.

I think I mentioned once before that Walker loves that horrible show American Gladiators. I really can’t blame him, though - it's mildly entertaining, but I liked it better the first time I saw it . . . when it was called American Gladiators. Anyway, his favorite event is the Eliminator at the end. He always gets really excited and says: “Daddy, when’s the Lemonader going to be on?”

Ellie Pics

"Daddy, what does this spell?"


Dr. Ellie checking on mommy's headache.

Poor little sick girl. She kept "spitting up".

And a couple shots of Princess Elizabeth I.

Pictures of the boys coming soon.