Fall is Here

Minneapolis is truly beautiful right now. Our backyard ash tree is dropping it's yellow leaves. All around our neighborhood, maples are turning bright red and there is a very satisfactory crunchiness to our walks. Our days have been busy, filled with good things like school time, violin lessons, trips to our newly refurbished neighborhood park, and cheering for Wesley, who is on the verge of walking. We also enjoyed a good visit from Grandma and Grandad, and are now looking forward to this week's arrival of Grandma and Papa. I am trying to soak in the last days of semi-warmth before they vanish for a *long* time.

I think he's angry with me because I don't have a picture of him standing and almost-walking.

We went to the pumpkin patch / apple orchard with Grandma and Grandad.

Not surprisingly, Jack enjoyed the wooden train.

Happy Wes.

Pumpkins!

Corrie in studious mode.

A nice walk 'round the lake.

We also visited the quaint town of Stillwater with the grandparents. The kids loved this horse and walking along the St Croix river. I, however, was wishing for a return trip without kids in order to browse the great antique stores. Double strollers and antiques do not mix.

Day of Contrasts

Corrie's day began like this:

And ended like this:


She was actually fine this morning, but I think was trying to gain some sympathy and attention. I did enjoy the SOS written on the magna doodle, though. This evening, however, she was able to attend a party at her violin teacher's home, because she was one of four student winners of the "Violin Olympics." This was a competition invented by her teacher in order to motivate students to practice violin over the summer months. As I am the one who practices with her daily, I felt that I should also receive a gold medal and a fairy diary, but instead I settled for a night out with my husband and boys. We ate some fantastic food at a new Himilayan restaurant, took a drive over the new 35W bridge and went to one of our favorite local establishments to end the evening with coffee. And so, in spite of the shaky start, the day ended well for all.

First Day Fun

Though we have been practicing our reading and writing over the summer, we chose today as the official kick-off to Corrie's Kindergarten year. I decided that we needed some fun and festivity to mark the occasion, and so Joel and I came up with a few ideas that we hope will become traditional first-day-of-school activities.

First, we set a nice table and made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. We also set out new lunch totes for each of the kids, with a letter from Mom and Dad about what we hope to accomplish and enjoy with them in the upcoming school year.


Next, Corrie and I sat down for some lesson time, and I had her complete a questionnaire about some of her favorite things as a 5 year old. I am planning on having her answer the same questions each year, so that we can see how she grows and changes. We also measured each of them, marking their heights on our basement wall, and took pictures on the front porch.


Finally, we decided that the first day of home school should always involve a field trip. We might as well celebrate our flexible schedule, no? And so, we headed off to the Saint Paul Cathedral, a destination that has always intrigued our little ones because of their association of the building with the cathedral in Mary Poppins. The outing did not disappoint. The building was beautiful, and we were able to hear an organ demonstration as we strolled through the church. As an added bonus, we got an up close and personal viewing of protesters and riot police surrounding the location of the Republican National Convention. The educational opportunities abounded! We also took the opportunity to have a tasty lunch at El Burrito Mercado before heading home for rest and pool play time.


All in all, an excellent first day of school for all concerned.

Interesting Injury of the Day

Jack stumbles, weeping, into the dining room with blood dripping from his mouth.

Me: Oh no! Did you fall?

Jack: Noooooooo. I bumped.

Me: You bumped? Into what?

Jack: I bumped my teeth. On the TOILET! Waaaaaah!

I just don't even want to know.

A Chat in the Doctor's Office

Tonight, I finally had to face facts and take myself to urgent care in order to address what turns out to be conjunctivitis in my right eye. As I was not in any serious distress, I decided to take Corrie along for the ride, in part because the girl *loves* the doctor's office. The outing did not disappoint. She read an exciting book in the waiting room, giggled with glee as the nurse took my blood pressure, and was in absolute awe when the doctor said that she could be the assistant while she administered drops and looked at my eye with a blue light. All the while, she filled her role as my chief comforter . . . holding my hand and expressing her concern over my condition throughout the experience.

My favorite part of the night, though, came when the nurse asked Corrie if she got along well with her little brothers. Her response: "Welllll, um, you know, sometimes we can be a little . . . unpeaceful, especially when we take toys away from each other."

You just have to love the honesty. It doesn't even occur to her that she could say, "Oh, yes, we get along splendidly," and no one would be the wiser. Though my throbbing eye is a literal pain and an inconvenience, I really enjoyed my rare chance to have some time alone with my funny and forthright little girl.

First Haircut

Our baby boy is turning one next week. Unbelievable. It is unbelievable that a year's time has already elapsed, and it is never ceases to amaze me that a baby can change so much in such a short span of time. Can he really have gone from this helpless newborn:

To this laughing, crawling, climbing, bouncing, little guy?:

But, enough of that. The purpose of this post was to show the shearing of Wesley's little baby mullet. As one would imagine, he was less than thrilled with this plan, but hung in there like a pro, even though he was the victim of a new stylist at the ever-popular "Kid's Hair" salon. In fact, so new was this stylist, that she forgot to censor her innermost feelings and let out a loud "Oh No!" when she saw me approaching the chair with the little guy. She did gather herself, however, and we left with a satisfactory result.

Behold, the unfolding drama:

You can't run and you can't hide.

I like my mullet. Let's leave it alone. Please.

Finished product.

Look What I Found . . .

. . . in my basement. 10 points will be awarded to those who can spot Wesley:

Summertime Update

The summer weeks have been flying by, and I am delinquent in posting our latest news. Early this month, we took a fantastic trip to northern Minnesota, where we stayed in a house situated on one of the 10,000 lakes. It was a great time of playing games, relaxing, and watching the kids throw stick after stick and rock after rock into the water. We did have our first encounter with true mosquito country, and became quite used to the odor of bug repellent. I was happy to discover, though, that the skeeters were not the size of hummingbirds, as some had led us to believe.




After our time 'up north', we came home and enjoyed Joel's birthday. He chose to celebrate with a family trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I was not so sure about this choice with our young brood, but it ended up being a good time. The MIA is very family friendly, it turns out. First of all, it is *free*free*free*. Secondly, they have a new 'family lounge' area, complete with family restroom, nursing room, and padded play area for the kids. It was a great place to take a break when the kids were growing weary of looking at the paintings and sculptures. Corrie really enjoyed it quite a bit, especially because she got to meet the Impressionists, just like Katie in one of her favorite books.

Daddy, Corrie, and Van Gogh

We are also enjoying our quiet days at home this Summer. Corrie and Jack love to make themselves busy in the backyard, or with various pretend adventures in the house. Wes is keeping me busy with his desire to crawl, explore, and chew upon *everything*. So far, we have managed to avoid any choking incidents or topples down the stairs. Good times.

Just Had to Share

Perhaps the strangest picture that I have ever taken of my children:


For the record, they climbed up there of their own accord.

He's Three

Today, my little right hand man turned three years old. He is still young enough to not really understand the cultural idea that his birthday is supposed to be all about him. When I whispered a last "happy birthday" as I tucked him in to bed, he whispered back, "happy birthday, mama." He also kept checking in with his sister throughout the day to see if she was enjoying herself. Even in the midst of opening his presents, he asked, "Corrie, are you really excited?" I love his sweet little self, and can still feel his babyhood when he positions himself on my lap and lays his fuzzy head on my shoulder. But, I can also see him becoming a little boy as he seems to master new things and gain more independence daily. Just in the past couple of weeks he mastered dressing himself, reciting entire Frog and Toad stories, and learning to store water from the hose in his mouth in order to run over and spit it out on the sidewalk. A mother can't help but be proud.

We also spent today wrapping up a fantastic visit from my parents, who helped us celebrate by taking us out to a great breakfast and to the nearby Minnesota Zoo. The kids had a great time. Jack was most excited by the prairie dogs, and mastered a stellar impersonation of the little critters. It was a good third birthday. And, yes, Jack, we *all* had a happy one.

Starting the day with pancakes.

Fun at the zoo.

Prairie Dogs are awesome.What's a birthday without the hose?

A happy, chocolate cake end to the day.

It's Good to Have Time

To play with the watering can:

To kick the ball:

To advertise mom's blog:

To say, "Hey, mom, come see this interesting bug . . ."

"Do you think it's a caterpillar?"

"We'll wait right here until it turns into a butterfly."

Oregon

We had a great trip to Oregon, seeing Joel's family and attending the wedding of his cousin. The children handled the loooong trip better than I expected. We flew into Seattle (a 3-4 hour flight), and then were chauffeured from Seattle to Bend by Joel's parents. With the need for frequent potty stops to accommodate Jack, it took a good 7ish hours to make our way through that leg of the trip. And then we turned around and did it all over again on the way home. The most difficult part of the whole experience for Corrie came just as we were landing in Minnesota, as there was quite a bit of turbulence. She does *not* like "bumps" on the airplane, and was crying with her head tucked onto my lap. Jack, on the other hand, enjoyed the added excitement thoroughly, and laughed his little head off as we bounced up and down.

The kids had a blast playing with all of their cousins, and getting a lot of love from their grandparents, aunts, uncles, second cousins, etc. Corrie loved the wedding, and couldn't get enough of the dance floor. Joel and I had a great time, as well, getting to spend some grown-up time with siblings and cousins after the kids were down for the night.

Here are some pictures of the excitement:

Wes decided to grow four teeth and start crawling on the trip.

Corrie and Cousin Peter were inseparable.

Wes (3rd youngest of the 9(!) great grandchildren present) gets some attention from Great-Grandma and cousins Laura and Rachel.

Corrie and cousin Lelia pose for a Goldfish Crackers advertisement.

Jack

We celebrated Jack's upcoming third birthday with the fam. I think he liked the cake.

Dad Really Cracks Me Up

. . . especially when he does the Cookie Monster voice . . .

Don't you just hate it when . . .

. . . you schlep three small children, one box violin, one practice bow, one large chart, one backpack full of snacks and potty emergency necessaries, and yourself 1/2 hour across town to "group lessons". . . only to arrive and find that the only available parking is near the drug-dealer's playground . . . only to dodge the drug dealers and herd your brood into the school . . . only to find out that group lessons were canceled . . . and the teacher did *not* call you?

I do.

We salvaged the afternoon, however, with a trip to the lovely park near Joel's store, followed by dinner with Daddy during his lunch break. Corrie especially enjoyed the chance to chat up every mother or father or innocent bystander trying to enjoy the park. She even discussed her thumb sucking habit with one mommy. As that same mommy said to me later, "She's a talker!" Yes, oh yes, she is. But the girl had to endure the loss of her beloved group lesson this week, and so I suppose she's entitled to some consolation conversations.

Lake Minnetonka

We took advantage of one of Joel's days off, and headed for Lake Minnetonka on Tuesday. It was great to see how beautiful it was in the Spring, and to reminisce about our time living in that area, when we first moved to Minnesota. Jack was crawling, Corrie was just learning how to dress herself, and we had no idea what the next years would bring. Thankfully, they have brought many blessings and much growth to us all.

Speaking of growth, Wesley had his 9 Month check up on Wednesday and was pronounced not-as-giant-as-before. He is 22 pounds 12 ounces (*only the 85th percentile*) and 30 inches long. He loves to sit and watch the world go by and be sweet. He doesn't try to stand, and the doctor said we should "work on that" so that he's pulling up by his 12 month appointment. Okey-Dokey. We'll get him in a strength training program right away. I say that he will stand up when he's good and ready and that there is *no* rush. These little ones all just seem to work at their own pace. We'll let him set his own.

Loving that lake breeze.

Happy Jack

Always moving

"Tell that doctor to leave me alone. I am busy contemplating."