Mmmmm, Suppy!

Ellie the other night before dinner: "Is suppy reader yet?"
The really cute part was the expression on her face. She knew it wasn't right and it took her a couple more tries before she finally got it.

One time I got home late and asked the kids what they had for dinner. Walker said, "Mayonnaise, chicken, and cranberry sandwiches." I thought he was joking but it turns out that's what they had. Carla said something about chicken salad but I had stopped listening at "Mayonnaise".

Walker had a cold with just a touch of the flu Monday night but he was feeling well enough to eat stir fry for dinner . . . or so he thought. He went in the bathroom to wash his hands afterwords and came out a couple seconds later whimpering. When we asked him what was wrong he said, "I burped and then carrots and broccoli fell into the sink." Luckily, it really was little more than a burp.

Carla, to the kids: Does anyone want to go to ALDI with me?
Ellie: MEOW, MEOW, MEOW!!
That means yes. The kid just loves to shop. Carla also made up a new slogan for ALDI the other day. I was making fun of her for going there (although they do have awesome applesauce) and she said, "Kurt, ALDI's nice. It's not just for homeless people anymore."

Carla and Ellie, upstairs, at the end of nap time.
Carla: Ellie, you little stink pot, you didn't take a nap.
Ellie comes downstairs.
Kurt: Elizabeth, why didn't you take a nap?
Ellie: I'm a teapot. I'm a . . . stinky little teapot.

Ellie's also been trying to get into the sports talks that Walker and I have been having lately. Walker and I were talking about who we'd want to win if the Packers played the Cardinals (he's been a big Arizona fan ever since they beat the Steelers), and Ellie said, "Do the Browns play the Indians basketball?"

Does anyone know the past-tense of "up"?

Ellie does. She was trying to get into my chair the other day and she kept slipping off. When she finally succeeded, she said, "Mommy! I get upped it!"

More crazy sports questions from Walker.
Walker: Daddy, who's number 11 with Ohio State with the birdseed all over his helmet?
Kurt (after figuring he must have meant the buckeye stickers): Umm, I don't know, Robiskie?
Walker: Yeah, you're right. Robiskie who?
I really didn't know. Robiskie's # 80. # 11 is Rob Shoenhoft and Scott James.

Walker: Daddy, who wins in basketball, Seattle or the Dukes?
Kurt: The Dukes, who are the Dukes?
Walker: You know, the Marlington Dukes.
Kurt: Oh, they don't play each other.
Walker: Well, who do they play?
Kurt: Seattle plays the Cavs and the Dukes play the Leopards.
Walker: Oh, well if the Baltimore plays the Steelers, I cheer for Baltimore.

Walker fell down the stairs the other day, basically like rolling down a hill. As soon as he stopped he jumped up and said, "It's ok Mom, I'm tough, I'm tough."
Later he recounted the incident -
Walker: Mom, Jesus was all silly and twisted up. You know? When I fell down the steps.
Carla: Oh, you mean inside your heart?
Walker: Yeah, he was thinking I must be falling down the steps and he was right!

A hodgepodge of hodgepodgery

Last night, Ellie wanted to do something (I forget what already) that she wasn't old enough to do yet.
Carla: No, Ellie, you're still too little.
Ellie, stretching her hands into the air for effect: No I'm not! I'm a grown up big strong grown up.

Also, she's constantly saying "No way Jose`" for some reason. I don't know where she got it.

Walker likes to set up our chess set like it's a football game and run plays. He usually makes up crazy names for the teams like the "Couchy Couches" vs. the "Windowsy Windows". Humorous if not overly creative . . . Anyway, the other day he was playing chess football and Ellie came running through the living room and knocked over a couple pieces. Walker surprisingly wasn't too upset but Ellie was. She said, "I'm sorry Walker. I'll go to time out." Then she went over to the stairs, shut the gate, and sat on our landing.

Walker: Oh, daddy, did I mention that I want a snack?
Kurt: No, you didn't.
Walker: Well, why not?

Walker, one morning, while still in his jammies, very distressed: Oh, Mommy, we forgot to do dressed!
Carla: It's OK, we can get dressed right now. What do you want to wear?
Walker: Slacks.

Also, Anderson coos and smiles now. I can't wait till he starts trying to say some words. I'll have a lot to write about him, too. I wish we would have started this blog a lot earlier to capture Walker and Ellie's first words. I wrote a bunch of them down somewhere - I'll see if I can dig them up.

Mom's doing good, I think. Maybe she'll even post a comment to let us know. Last I heard, she was up and around a little but when I called the other night she was sleeping.

The day I turned 200,000

Yep, the old Grand Cherokee hit the big 200,000 mile mark Thursday night on my way home from school. Wish you were there to see it? Don't worry - I got pictures so we can relive the moment together.

I thought maybe balloons and streamers would fall from the sky but the only remarkable thing that happened was it kept running. So, how's the 200,000 mile old Jeep holding up?

Things that don't work anymore

Cruise control

Keyless entry

Driver side auto door lock

Any speakers on the driver's side

Rear window wiper

Hatch shocks - the things that hold the hatch open. I've been hit in the head more than once

The horn - I really have to fix that

Things that still work that probably shouldn't

All of the automatic windows

All the speakers on the passenger side

The 4WD

Remarkably, the A/C

And now, some less important pictures:

Walker and Ellie watching Dora Pirate. Ellie's pretty scared of the pirate piggies so Walker protects her. Ellie enjoying the top (and, of course, only the top) of a Christmas cookie
Playtime
Preview of the teenage years:

Walker and Ellie racing up the stairs for baths:
Walker: I'm First!
Ellie: I'm Sinkit!

The Mystery of the Basketball Crown

Walker seems to be a pretty visual learner/thinker, as per the constant questions about what color football jerseys and helmets are when the game's just on the radio. When basketball season started this year, he asked me what color jerseys the Cavs had. I told him and then he asked what color helmets they wore. I said basketball players don't wear helmets and we left it at that. Well, I did, anyway. A few days later he started asking me what color crowns the Cavs wore. He's probably asked me half a dozen times and every time I tell him they don't wear crowns and to stop being silly. Well, last night, I finally figured it out. He asked me what color crowns the Grizzlies wore because they were playing the Cavs on the radio. I said, "The Girzzlies don't wear crowns. Basketball players don't wear anything on their he- Ohhhhhhh . . . You mean headbands!" He knew they wore something, he just didn't know what they were called. I guess they kind of sort of look like crowns. I'm just glad we got that straightened out before he went around asking other people the same question.

Walker's favorite juice box flavor: "Strawberry Zucchini" (he means strawberry kiwi).
Ellie's favorite tool in Walker's toolbox: "The Scwoofdwiver. Daddy, I want to scwoof"

Our little mommy: Ellie has a baby doll named Carly. Yesterday Ellie was playing with Carly, wrapping her up in her blanket and feeding her, etc. She was doing a really nice job of being a mommy till she came over to the real mommy and said, "Mama, I put Cawee in the freezer!" Turns out, she did, in the freezer in her play kitchen. When I got home and Carla told me what happened, we found out who was behind it. Walker overheard Carla tell me that Ellie put Carly in the freezer and he said, "We put Carly in the freezer, in the oven, in the microwave . . ."

My real mommy: Mom got a new back yesterday. Reminds me of Lieutenant Dan. I guess things went fine during surgery so thanks to those who prayed for her. I'll have to try to post more often because she's going to be bored at home for a while.

Super Special Saturday Edition

It's rare that I get to write on the weekends so I guess this is a special treat. We dumped Anderson off on Bob and Kay last night and took Walker and Ellie to meet some friends of ours for dinner. We had to think of a good last minute Friday night restaurant that took call ahead so we came up with Bennigans, which accomplished all but the "good" part. The nice part was that, since it's not that good, it wasn't very busy. We got there at about 6:30 and the place was maybe half-full. The kids were great. They sat at the table and ate/played/talked with us for two whole hours! I never thought we'd be able to last that long. Walker and Dave mainly talked Browns and played the "guess which hand the balled up piece of paper is in" game, Carla and Amanda talked cognitive development over some spicy french fries (they went to school together for early childhood - the french fries apparently had pepper on them, which I didn't notice but which burned Carla's lips), and I floated from conversation to conversation, including Ellie's meowing and singing Dora songs.

Ellie's favorite dessert: "Popstickles"
Ellie's favorite thing to watch on TV: "Ractoons"

More anatomy issues (kind of personal but too funny not to write down. If you've changed any of my kids' diapers, I guess it's not too personal for you to read). While Carla was changing Ellie's diaper:
Ellie: I have a peepee.
Carla: Yes, you do, Ellie.
Ellie: Walker doesn't have a peepee. Walker has a stick.
Carla: No, Ellie, everybody has a peepee. Boy peepees and girl peepees are just different.
Ellie: Ohhhh, Mommy has a peepee, Daddy has a peepee, Ellie has a peepee, Walker has a stick!
Might be time for them to stop taking baths together . . .

Because it's been a while since I've posted pictures:

Go Browns!

Walker cutting down our Christmas tree. He did most of it - Daddy just had to "finish it up" for him.

Ellie eating an apple approximately the size of her head
There are times where they're not fighting:

I guess He'd wash my feet, too

A little preaching, then cute kid things:

Usually my morning Bible reading time is a gotta-hurry-through-this-gonna-be-late-what-did-I-just-read-again kind of event. Every once in a while, though, something really grabs hold. I was reading in John this morning about Jesus washing the disciples' feet, something I've read or heard about dozens of times in my life. Every one always focuses on Jesus and Peter's exchange and how Peter tells him not to wash his feet, then asks him to wash his hands and head as well. That's a really important exchange, don't get me wrong, but the thing that really hit me this morning was a little more between the lines. The next thing Jesus says is: "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." The "though not every one of you" refers to Judas and his upcoming betrayal. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him, we all know that, but here's the thing: Jesus still washed Judas' feet. He knelt before and washed the feet of the man who would very soon leave to turn Jesus in to have him killed and he knew it. And he probably thought, This man, too, I love enough to die for.

Anyway . . . Walker wanted a snack the other day. Carla, being a good mom, told him he could have an apple, a banana, or an orange. Walker went to the kitchen and brought Carla an apple and a banana.
Carla: No, Walker, you can only have one or the other.
Walker: But I want two. Just like the song. (I like to eat, eat, eat . . .)
Walker won and got to eat both. Ellie also decided she wanted an apple.
Ellie: Cut my apple with a soft Ife, Mommy.
We don't have any soft knives so Carla used an apple slicer.
Walker: Oh, I like that one. It's my favorite.
We only have the one apple slicer but I'm glad Walker approves.

I got home from Youth last night and saw that Carla and the kids had made popcorn.
Kurt: Wow, a popcorn night! You guys must have been good.
Walker: Yeah. Mommy's really good at making black ones!
She didn't really mean to but they loved them and now she's got me beat out for first string popcorn maker.

Fast Forward

New Year's Eve (I'll cover more of Christmas when/if I remember any of it). As per New Year's Eve tradition, we decided in Sunday School the day before that maybe we ought to get together. Highlights:
I cooked wings from 5 till 8.
I played Euchre for the first time in months.
Walker threw a fit when it was time to go to Grandma and Grandpas so he got to stay home.
Ellie went willingly and left her new kitchen in the hands of somewhere between 5 and 20 kids (I lost count).
Walker stayed awake till 10:45, at which point he had a melt down. I took him to bed, which he wasn't happy about. Luckily, I found a football game on the radio to drown out the noise. Keep in mind, I had just turned it on and had no idea who was playing:
Walker: Who's playing?
Kurt (knowing it was a college football game but lying anyway): The Packers and the Bills.
Walker: Who's our team? (Who are we rooting for?)
Kurt: Umm, the Packers.
Walker: Yeah, you're right daddy. What color helmets do the Bills have?
Kurt: Red.
Walker: Jerseys?
Kurt: Blue
Walker: What about the Packers?
Kurt: Yellow helmets, green jerseys.
Walker: What's the score?
Kurt: The Packers have 17 and the Bills have 14. It's a close game.
Walker: What quarter is it? (He used to ask me what frame it was. Stupid bowling obsession)
Kurt: It's the second. It's almost halftime.
Walker: Which one is the Packers score? (He asks that when he's watching on TV so he can keep track of who's winning. Don't know why he wanted to know on the radio)
Kurt: The top one. Close your eyes and go to sleep.
Walker: I don't want to close my eyes. I want to listen to the game.
Kurt, exhausted: OK, do whatever you want, just stay in bed.

More highlights:
We played Catch Phrase (is that what it's called?) which is actually one of my least favorite games of all time, although I had a really good time playing it this time so it's moving up in the ranks.
"Give me some stuff that covers your organs" means give me some skin.
"Stuff that comes from a pig . . . aboot" means Canadian Bacon.
Dick Clark looks better this year than last year.
Ryan Seacrest still looks like he needs punched.

The place cleared out right after midnight because of the little kids. Carla fell asleep at 12:17. I cleaned up for a little while then went to bed at 1:45. Anderson woke up at 1:46. I bounced Anderson in his chair for an hour until it was time for him to eat and I finally went to sleep at 3. Walker woke up at 7 and wanted to Grandma and Grandpa's. Happy New Year.

What's next?

OK, Christmas morning: Walker woke up early but it wasn't one of his 4 in the morning stunts. He came down a little after 6 and we told him to go to the bathroom then he could climb in bed with us. Well, being a man of routine, he decided to go to "his" bathroom clear across the house instead of using ours. I went out to try to stop him from looking to see if Santa came yet but I met him in the living room when he was looking at presents. He didn't get overly excited and I was able to coax him back into our room to read the Christmas story until Ellie woke up. Here's a summary of what Santa brought:
Walker
an easel
a bunch of Cars cars
a Cars race track (when he opened it he was pretty excited and yelled, "I was waiting for this!" even though he had no idea what it was, really)
Ellie
A Cabbage Patch baby
a kitchen, which she loves, with a bunch of pots and pans and stuff. Santa is very happy she likes it so much because it took him nearly 4 hours to put it together . . .
Anderson
A mirror thing that he can lay on the ground and look at. Walker and Ellie bring it over to him every time we lay him down.

A conversation I recently had with Walker
Walker: Daddy, close your eyes. (Whenever he says close your eyes or I have a surprise for you, he's holding a football behind his back.)
Kurt: Walker, I can't play football right now. I have to feed Anderson.
Walker: How are you gonna feed him if you don't have a . . . thing . . . a left or right milk?
I laughed then showed him the bottle and Walker just kind of smiled and said "Oh".

Ellie's favorite restaurant: "Old McDonald's"
Ellie's favorite supper: "Taco Swamits" That's a taco sandwich, which is just a taco. We don't know why she calls it a sandwich.

Oh, man, where to begin?

Christmas Eve, I guess. I had Walker and Ellie help me wrap Carla's presents from them. I decided that Walker would get her cookie sheets, which made him pretty excited because they like making cookies together. I decided Ellie would get her shoes because she's a girl. I told them both that the presents were a big secret and not to tell mommy about them. As soon as I let them out of the room, Ellie ran up to Carla, pointed at her, and said, "I wrapped your present" but she didn't say what it was . . . until 4 hours later.

Ellie: Mommy, is it Christmas?
Mommy: It's Christmas Eve.
Ellie: Do I get presents?
Mommy: Yes, you get presents.
Ellie: I got new shoes for you. Merry Christmas!

Note to self: two-year-olds can't keep secrets.

Later on that day, we went to Bob and Kay's for dinner and the gift exchange. Walker got a V-Smile (it's like a playstation for little kids), which he hasn't stopped playing with since, and Ellie got clothes and a Barbie purse and a high chair for her dolls and a bunch of other girl stuff. Ellie and Papa ate a bunch of "CasEWEs" together and Walker played basketball (he got a new basketball hoop, too). Carla and I took Anderson to church for his acting debut at Baby Jesus. He did really well, even though it was 140 degrees up in front of the church. We were only up there for about 45 minutes instead of the usual 5, though, so no problem. Then, finally, home to bed, listening for sleigh bells.