Our first movie experience was Madagascar 2 some time ago. Today we decided to catch "The Princess And The Frog" matinee. We got there just as the theatre was filling up, so ended up with decent seats (especially considering the seats taken in the front two rows by those arriving later). Previews, then movie starts, then we break out the snuck-in kettle corn. This reminded me of walking to the Kensington theatre with my brothers and my Mom would make us all popcorn that we would sneak in.
About halfway through the 1.5 hour movie, William says "I want to leave now". I thought the issue would be either bathroom or falling asleep. I coaxed him into staying and he really started enjoying it. I think he was the loudest laugher in the whole theatre!
The movie ended on a very up note and the kids really enjoyed it. My only complaint is that it seems that every movie we see lately wants to introduce the topic of death. We really don't want to go there with a 4 and 3 year old. Otherwise, great movie.
Afterwards, we decided to go to Champs for dinner and were pleasantly surprised that on Tuesdays, kids eat free! Bonus! We had a nice dinner, then William fell asleep in the car as soon as he got to his seat.
Enjoying my week off.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Santa's lap!
We've finally had a successful Santa visit with both kids! Up until this year, Mary Grace has been too scared of Santa to sit on his lap but reluctantly posed last year because her cousin Catie was with her. Remember a few years ago when she would say "I care Santa!".
Apart from the untimely loudspeaker announcement at the mall, I made a wonderful video of their visit. I included a transcript to help you know what was said.
Mommy: Do you want to tell Santa what you want?
Mary Grace: A barbie van
William: I want Bendaroos
Daddy: One at a time; did you catch that Santa Clause?
William: A mean dinosaur that doesn't stomp and doesn't roar, bendaroos and that's it
Santa: Wow, have you guys been good this year
Mary Grace: Yup!
Santa: I think so, have you been helping Mommy and Daddy out around the house?
Mary Grace: Yup!
Santa: Wonderful; you guys got your toys picked up for Santa?
Mary Grace: Yup!I was playing with all my puzzles last day!
Santa: That's alright, just so long as you pick them up after your done playing with them, ok?
Santa: Tell Santa, have you and your brother been fighting?
William: Yup!
Santa: Well, no more fighting; Santa's watching!
Santa: ...something about my elves...?
Santa: Can you wave to Daddy and say Merry Christmas?
Mary Grace and William: Merry Christmas!
Santa: Merry Christmas; Ho ho ho ho!
Apart from the untimely loudspeaker announcement at the mall, I made a wonderful video of their visit. I included a transcript to help you know what was said.
Mommy: Do you want to tell Santa what you want?
Mary Grace: A barbie van
William: I want Bendaroos
Daddy: One at a time; did you catch that Santa Clause?
William: A mean dinosaur that doesn't stomp and doesn't roar, bendaroos and that's it
Santa: Wow, have you guys been good this year
Mary Grace: Yup!
Santa: I think so, have you been helping Mommy and Daddy out around the house?
Mary Grace: Yup!
Santa: Wonderful; you guys got your toys picked up for Santa?
Mary Grace: Yup!I was playing with all my puzzles last day!
Santa: That's alright, just so long as you pick them up after your done playing with them, ok?
Santa: Tell Santa, have you and your brother been fighting?
William: Yup!
Santa: Well, no more fighting; Santa's watching!
Santa: ...something about my elves...?
Santa: Can you wave to Daddy and say Merry Christmas?
Mary Grace and William: Merry Christmas!
Santa: Merry Christmas; Ho ho ho ho!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Who's William's BFF?
I asked William "Who is your best friend at school?"
He responded "Joe!"
"Who is your second-best friend at school?"
"Nothin!"
Anne and I chuckled at how cute that was, then he said
"I mean nobody!"
Chuckle time is over, and proud parent mode kicks in!
He responded "Joe!"
"Who is your second-best friend at school?"
"Nothin!"
Anne and I chuckled at how cute that was, then he said
"I mean nobody!"
Chuckle time is over, and proud parent mode kicks in!
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Who has a brain the size of a walnut?
Tonight we were practicing reading hour (since William's teacher said he has trouble focusing during reading time) and in the midst of it, the book we were reading was addressing the things that all people have in common. One item was a brain. So Anne asks William "Who has a brain the size of a walnut"?
William stood there thinking and thinking, then cautiously responds "Jonny?". Dumbfounded, we asked him to repeat what he said, and he came back with "Nate and Jonny?".
He must have misunderstood the question, but we got a giant kick out of it.
Hope you did too Nate and Jon!
William stood there thinking and thinking, then cautiously responds "Jonny?". Dumbfounded, we asked him to repeat what he said, and he came back with "Nate and Jonny?".
He must have misunderstood the question, but we got a giant kick out of it.
Hope you did too Nate and Jon!
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
SNOW!
I love the excitement in the little ones about things we take for granted as adults. I was up early this morning and while having breakfast, I heard the stomp of William getting out of bed upstairs. Then a couple of careful steps as he approached the window. The the stomp-stomp of jumping with excitement. Then the gallop of hooves as he raced excitedly downstairs all the while screaming SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!
I got a big hug, then an unfortunate question - "Can we go outside and play in the snow?" "I'm sorry William, but I have to go to work now!"
Pesky responsibilities; I would have liked to play in the first snow with my boy. But I keep telling myself that there will be plenty more opportunities.
I got a big hug, then an unfortunate question - "Can we go outside and play in the snow?" "I'm sorry William, but I have to go to work now!"
Pesky responsibilities; I would have liked to play in the first snow with my boy. But I keep telling myself that there will be plenty more opportunities.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009
This year we had Thanksgiving at Mama's house. The last thanksgiving of the aughts was a great success. The kids were nice and hungry, William tried a bunch of new food (sweet potatoes, squash), Mary Grace ate a bunch of turkey (with Ranch dressing of course...), and everyone had a great time. In addition we also had stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and of course, Mama's wonderful rolls. It was a feast.
As if that wasn't enough, we also had a pumpkin pie and an apple pie, both which were outstanding!
The weekend was a success remodel-wise too, as I finished the electrical work and got ready to hang the drywall on the ceiling.
Posing with "gobbles"
"Fill 'er up"
Mama and Mary Grace
As if that wasn't enough, we also had a pumpkin pie and an apple pie, both which were outstanding!
The weekend was a success remodel-wise too, as I finished the electrical work and got ready to hang the drywall on the ceiling.
Posing with "gobbles"
"Fill 'er up"
Mama and Mary Grace
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Cute Poppy
The kids have discovered the cereal Corn Pops, which they cutely call "Poppies". William told me yesterday while looking at the box and reading the letter "Look Daddy, P O P S spells Poppies!".
Mary Grace on the other hand made a pet out of a little poppy. She found a tiny little one that was shaped like a seashell. I didn't know it was her new pet. While I was washing dishes, she handed it to me, and thinking she had found it on the floor or something, I ate it.
Once I saw the look of fear wash over her face, I realized I had made a great mistake. Then the crying began as she ran to Mommy crying "Daddy ate my poppy!". So we searched through several bowls of poppies looking for a suitable replacement pet, but didn't find one.
Good thing for me about 1 hour later, all was forgiven and forgotten. She has since found a new pet, twin small poppies. Now that I know that a piece of cereal can be a pet, I'll be a lot more careful...
Mary Grace on the other hand made a pet out of a little poppy. She found a tiny little one that was shaped like a seashell. I didn't know it was her new pet. While I was washing dishes, she handed it to me, and thinking she had found it on the floor or something, I ate it.
Once I saw the look of fear wash over her face, I realized I had made a great mistake. Then the crying began as she ran to Mommy crying "Daddy ate my poppy!". So we searched through several bowls of poppies looking for a suitable replacement pet, but didn't find one.
Good thing for me about 1 hour later, all was forgiven and forgotten. She has since found a new pet, twin small poppies. Now that I know that a piece of cereal can be a pet, I'll be a lot more careful...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Incompatible games
Mary Grace and William sometimes play really well together. Sometimes, however, it doesn't go so well. Imagine observing this:
Mary Grace is playing with her Ponyville. She has Pinky Pie and Minty and Star Song and the others. They're having a birthday party for one of the ponies. It's a great party until William joins in. William brings his dinosaur to join in the fun. Of course, being a dinosaur, the first thing it wants to do is jump around and knock all the ponies over, disrupting the party. The dinosaur proceeds to get into an epic battle with one of the ponies, at which point Mary Grace is running crying for a parent to intervene.
She calls this "playing naughty", as in, "No William, I don't want you to play naughty!"
Now imagine the other side. William has a franken-toy setup involving trains running over dinosaurs, blocks acting as the bowser trying to beat everyone else, and even pull-back cars running through the whole disaster. Mary Grace brings her Barbie doll into this, suggesting they could all work together to throw a surprise party for another Barbie.
There's no term for this intervention, but again, it ends up in a brawl of some sort requiring parental intervention.
Sometimes they play well, other times not so much!
Mary Grace is playing with her Ponyville. She has Pinky Pie and Minty and Star Song and the others. They're having a birthday party for one of the ponies. It's a great party until William joins in. William brings his dinosaur to join in the fun. Of course, being a dinosaur, the first thing it wants to do is jump around and knock all the ponies over, disrupting the party. The dinosaur proceeds to get into an epic battle with one of the ponies, at which point Mary Grace is running crying for a parent to intervene.
She calls this "playing naughty", as in, "No William, I don't want you to play naughty!"
Now imagine the other side. William has a franken-toy setup involving trains running over dinosaurs, blocks acting as the bowser trying to beat everyone else, and even pull-back cars running through the whole disaster. Mary Grace brings her Barbie doll into this, suggesting they could all work together to throw a surprise party for another Barbie.
There's no term for this intervention, but again, it ends up in a brawl of some sort requiring parental intervention.
Sometimes they play well, other times not so much!
Monday, November 16, 2009
It's ok to post Halloween photos before Thanksgiving
Trust me, it's ok.
For Halloween, Mary Grace dressed as a witch and William wanted to be Spiderman. Mommy did an amazing job of finding both costumes on the cheap, in like-new condition, and the costumes were awesome!
Here are some of the photos we took on the magical trick-or-treating night of October 31! The kids had a blast showing off their costumes to all the neighbors and and the adults had a blast watching the kids and consuming drinkables from the beer wagon!
The night started out chilly with a cold breeze but as we moved from house to house it seemed to warm up for us. We trick or treated for about an hour, then headed back to the house to eat some pumpkin seeds and inventory the goodies.
The kids are still enjoying the loot and now expect a piece of candy after every meal, even breakfast. Mary Grace, the perennial bird-like eater has adopted a strategy of eating half or less of her meal then trying to fill up on candy afterward. Yes, she is our little negotiator.
William has learned to climb up onto the counter-tops where he stands up to reach the candy on the upper shelves of the cabinets. Cannonball, as our ex-neighbors Mike and Doris nicknamed him.
We're all looking forward to the upcoming holiday!
For Halloween, Mary Grace dressed as a witch and William wanted to be Spiderman. Mommy did an amazing job of finding both costumes on the cheap, in like-new condition, and the costumes were awesome!
Here are some of the photos we took on the magical trick-or-treating night of October 31! The kids had a blast showing off their costumes to all the neighbors and and the adults had a blast watching the kids and consuming drinkables from the beer wagon!
The night started out chilly with a cold breeze but as we moved from house to house it seemed to warm up for us. We trick or treated for about an hour, then headed back to the house to eat some pumpkin seeds and inventory the goodies.
The kids are still enjoying the loot and now expect a piece of candy after every meal, even breakfast. Mary Grace, the perennial bird-like eater has adopted a strategy of eating half or less of her meal then trying to fill up on candy afterward. Yes, she is our little negotiator.
William has learned to climb up onto the counter-tops where he stands up to reach the candy on the upper shelves of the cabinets. Cannonball, as our ex-neighbors Mike and Doris nicknamed him.
We're all looking forward to the upcoming holiday!
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
William's sleepy time
William inevitably asks Mommy or I to lay with him after he's read a story. So once the book gets put down, the lights get dimmed and I snuggle with the little cutie and we talk about what we did today and what is going on tomorrow. Then about 30 seconds of silence before William is asleep. I'm not joking here. 30 seconds.
He asks "will you lay with me" like it's a big deal... Sure, honey - anytime!
He asks "will you lay with me" like it's a big deal... Sure, honey - anytime!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mary Grace's new song
Mary Grace came home from school all excited about the new song she learned at school. Here it is:
(It degraded to some silliness at the end...)
(It degraded to some silliness at the end...)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Apple picking and pumpkin patching 2
Faced with a beautiful Sunday afternoon and nothing terribly pressing on our calendar, we opted to head out to G&S Orchards, at 825 Atlantic (crossing of Lincoln Rd in Walworth). It's about a 15 minute drive from the house and completely worth it.
We initially opted not to take a whole bushel, but cost made it more economical. We got a lot more apples than we need, but the cost was still about $20. The kids did great picking apples but had to be reminded to gently place them into the bags and not to pick up apples off the ground. We ended up with 4 varieties and made sure to eat at least one of each variety to ensure they were up to our high standards.
Next, we rolled the wagon down to the pumpkin patch for some pumpkin picking. After much careful examination, William settled on a nice big beauty, and Mary Grace chose "the littlest pumpkin" (based on a book we have). I steered her towards a larger, easier to carve pumpkin and she too got a nice one.
Anne wanted to get one too, so she picked a green one with the intention of carving our house number into it.
On the way back to pay for all the loot we selected, we noticed three years old is apparently the age when a child falls on a rotten pumpkin. Happened to Mary Grace last year and William this year. William couldn't care less though, while Mary Grace was quite upset and crying. Trusty mommy's emergency diaper bag to the rescue once again with a spare pair of pants.
On the way home we realized we hadn't had lunch yet, so we stopped at the new Bay/Goodman pizza on Atlantic and Browncroft and had a nice pizza lunch.
A wonderful fall afternoon was had by all, and here's the evidence:
We initially opted not to take a whole bushel, but cost made it more economical. We got a lot more apples than we need, but the cost was still about $20. The kids did great picking apples but had to be reminded to gently place them into the bags and not to pick up apples off the ground. We ended up with 4 varieties and made sure to eat at least one of each variety to ensure they were up to our high standards.
Next, we rolled the wagon down to the pumpkin patch for some pumpkin picking. After much careful examination, William settled on a nice big beauty, and Mary Grace chose "the littlest pumpkin" (based on a book we have). I steered her towards a larger, easier to carve pumpkin and she too got a nice one.
Anne wanted to get one too, so she picked a green one with the intention of carving our house number into it.
On the way back to pay for all the loot we selected, we noticed three years old is apparently the age when a child falls on a rotten pumpkin. Happened to Mary Grace last year and William this year. William couldn't care less though, while Mary Grace was quite upset and crying. Trusty mommy's emergency diaper bag to the rescue once again with a spare pair of pants.
On the way home we realized we hadn't had lunch yet, so we stopped at the new Bay/Goodman pizza on Atlantic and Browncroft and had a nice pizza lunch.
A wonderful fall afternoon was had by all, and here's the evidence:
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Happy Birthday Mama
We celebrated Mama's birthday on Monday at our house. We had a nice dinner, then leftover birthday cake from a lunch party for Mama, Aunt Rose and Didi. Happy birthday to everyone!
First rainbow ever!
Walking out the back door to go straighten the garage in anticipation of our first new bathroom appliance, the tub, I noticed it was sunny-raining. As I walked down the steps I saw this!
I quickly hurried back inside and excitedly gathered up the kids. They had never seen a real rainbow up in the sky before. So we all went out in the chilly October air and watched the rainbow!
Mary Grace was quick to point out that in cartoons, if you find the end of the rainbow, you'll find a treasure! As usual, William agreed and even repeated the statement!
I quickly hurried back inside and excitedly gathered up the kids. They had never seen a real rainbow up in the sky before. So we all went out in the chilly October air and watched the rainbow!
Mary Grace was quick to point out that in cartoons, if you find the end of the rainbow, you'll find a treasure! As usual, William agreed and even repeated the statement!
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Sleep talking
Every once in a while, Mary Grace wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I always wake up when I hear the little pitter-patter of her running into our bedroom, straight to my side of the bed. I'm expected to lift the covers and she climbs in and we fall asleep.
That usually lasts about an hour, when she starts tossing and turning, slowly pushing me towards Anne's side of the bed. At that point I get "influenced" to take Mary Grace back to her bed, where she sleeps soundly for the rest of the night.
Last night was one of these events. So I'm sound asleep when Mary Grace starts talking about Cinderella's carriage. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was obvious she was having a Disney Princess dream...
Finally back to sleep and about a half hour later, Mary Grace is YELLING "Lets go for a hay-ride! Hahaha". I was chuckling at that one, but Anne wasn't so amused. So off to her own bed my little girl went. And a smile on my face I have everytime I think about it.
Hope it happens again tonight!
That usually lasts about an hour, when she starts tossing and turning, slowly pushing me towards Anne's side of the bed. At that point I get "influenced" to take Mary Grace back to her bed, where she sleeps soundly for the rest of the night.
Last night was one of these events. So I'm sound asleep when Mary Grace starts talking about Cinderella's carriage. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was obvious she was having a Disney Princess dream...
Finally back to sleep and about a half hour later, Mary Grace is YELLING "Lets go for a hay-ride! Hahaha". I was chuckling at that one, but Anne wasn't so amused. So off to her own bed my little girl went. And a smile on my face I have everytime I think about it.
Hope it happens again tonight!
That TV is going to rot your brain!
I remember my mom saying that to us as kids, especially on those marathon TV nights when Battlestar Galactica or The Six Million Dollar Man was on. I now have proof that she was right.
William and Mary Grace were watching some kids show we Tivo'ed on TLC back when we still had cable. Anne walked in as a commercial was playing and asked "What are you guys watching?" William responded "It's the Wonder Hanger - It holds 6 winter coats!"
Most of the programming they watch is commercial free now, so those rare commercials they do see really carry a lot of influence!
William and Mary Grace were watching some kids show we Tivo'ed on TLC back when we still had cable. Anne walked in as a commercial was playing and asked "What are you guys watching?" William responded "It's the Wonder Hanger - It holds 6 winter coats!"
Most of the programming they watch is commercial free now, so those rare commercials they do see really carry a lot of influence!
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
One
Counting the number of illnesses the kids encounter this cold/flu season.
Mary Grace started feeling sick after school. She fell asleep snuggling with Mommy and when she woke up, signs of a stomach bug surfaced. Between "bouts", she was pretty normal, but the "bouts" lasted well into the evening.
She was awake at 11, 3:30 and 6:30, then finally got up at 7:15, seemingly back to her peppy, excited, loud-talking self. Unfortunately, her fever kicked in at 100.5 and while she's keeping down clear liquids, she's still not 100%.
William and his iron stomach are fine, although he felt a little warm this morning.
Mary Grace started feeling sick after school. She fell asleep snuggling with Mommy and when she woke up, signs of a stomach bug surfaced. Between "bouts", she was pretty normal, but the "bouts" lasted well into the evening.
She was awake at 11, 3:30 and 6:30, then finally got up at 7:15, seemingly back to her peppy, excited, loud-talking self. Unfortunately, her fever kicked in at 100.5 and while she's keeping down clear liquids, she's still not 100%.
William and his iron stomach are fine, although he felt a little warm this morning.
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