Colorado Morrows

The Littlest Dancer Goes to Dance Class

2011-01-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

O happy day! Dance class has been the talk of the house for the last week, and finally, FINALLY PJ got to go to her first class today.

Her class is the first one of the morning, so when we got there the studio door was still closed while Miss Joy prepped for the class. We went into the foyer and got PJ's dress off (the leotard and tights went on first thing this morning) and got her shoes on, and after stowing them in the cubbies the three of us (Abby came with) went to the back of the room where there's seating in front of the studio window so we could watch PJ while she danced. We claimed a couple chairs, and when I turned around to talk to PJ, she was gone. The place isn't that big, so I was trying to figure out where she'd gotten to--when I looked in the studio room and saw she'd already let herself in! I went to get her and Miss Joy said it was alright--she was just getting ready to open the door anyway. At least my concerns about PJ changing her mind about it all at the last minute were completely unfounded!

I was also worried that if she saw me through the window she'd get upset that she couldn't get to me, but no, whenever she saw Abby or me she'd wave and then go back to whatever it was they were going. She was very focused and always paid attention to Miss Joy. There were a couple times when the other girls would get distracted and come to the window for their moms, or when they'd sort of space out in the middle of dancing--but not PJ. She was always engaged. My little dancers!

At the end she came out and started crying because she wanted to go back in. I had to bodily remove her from the studio when the other class started--she would have stayed in with those 6-year-olds if she could have! Miss Joy thanked me for bringing her and said, "I asked her what I should call her--Penelope, Penny Jane, PJ--and said, 'What name do you like?' She said, 'Um...Abby!'"That cracked me up. Poor kid gets called so many nicknames she probably didn't know what to say!

So now we're in for another week of "I want to go to dance class NOW!" But honestly, after seeing how much she loves it, I don't mind at all!

A good dancer always begins with stretches...this one seems particularly flexible!

Dancing with their fairy wands...

Thank you!!!

2011-01-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

The girls received a plethora of Target gift cards at Christmas (and Abby got two for her birthday)--so today Dan took the girls to Target while I worked and let them shop. I was really impressed with their purchases--Dan said they chose everything themselves, no parental coercion involved. :) Here they are with their selections:

After a showdown between Mom and The Packaging, we freed all the toys from their plastic prisons and twist-tie jungles and the girls played to their little hearts' contents. Lots of fun in store (though PJ has already lost the brownie from the dessert tray that comes with her singing teapot.)

So to Greena and Par, Miss Jeni and Ella, Uncle Andrew and Miss Trisha, and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Kelli--THANK YOU!!!

Five!

2010-12-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was the Big Day. I spent Monday baking and prepping and running to the store (and forgetting my cell phone there), and then Tuesday morning we loaded up the car, took one last trip to King Soopers, and then headed out to Little Monkey Bizness--but not before opening gifts at home:

Things were a little disorganized at Little Monkey Bizness--apparently the place is run by high schoolers. But, regardless, they had our room ready for us:

For the first hour the kids played...

After play time was up we wrangled everyone in to the party room for lunch and cake (well, cupcakes):

After lunch was over we packed up and headed home, taking the Smiths with us. They stayed until bedtime and the kids had a great time opening Abby's party presents and playing with all the loot the girls have accumulated over the last few days. I think we have 10 new board games. It's awesome!

Abby has really embraced her 5-ness with both hands. All of a sudden she's Little Miss Independent. This morning, out of nowhere, she went and got her toothbrush and brushed her teeth herself. Then she asked to do school (which was very fun using the Inchimals we got from Green and Par and the What's Gnu game Dan and I gave her). And all day she kept saying, "I'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight!" Well, that second one didn't quite happen, but regardless she totally wants to be *bigger*. Totally awesome on one hand, and totally difficult to swallow on the other. My little girl is getting so grown up!!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

It's a sunny, non-snowy day here in Colorado, and we're so happy to be celebrating Christmas! The girls were up at 6, and we're now all busy admiring and playing with our new gifts. By far the best present of the day was the Pillow Pet each girl received. We bought these ages ago and, as I'm sure is true in your neck of the woods, these things are *everywhere*, and every single time we've passed a display the girls have gone bananas over them. Nothing like knowing you hit the nail on the head with a gift! It was the second-to-last one they opened, and there was much jumping and rejoicing.

Later this morning we'll head to my parents' place for the traditional cinnamon roll breakfast (I made gluten-free ones for Abby and I--we'll see how they are) and gift-opening, followed by the traditional roast beef and Yorkshire pudding lunch, which I think will be eaten in front of the Lakers game at lunch. (That part isn't so traditional, but our big celebratory meal was last night at Dolce Vida, our new favorite restaurant, so it's not as big a deal if everyone scatters today at lunch. Heck, most likely the girls will be sleep through it, given how early they were up!)

We pray this holiday is one of warmth and love and peace in our Lord, Jesus Christ. May He bless you and, more importantly, draw you ever nearer to Him (the best blessing of all!) this coming year. Merry Christmas to all!!

The Little Dancer That Could (and did!!)

2010-12-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

First off, major apologies for how long it's taken me to get a new post up. Between rewriting a book in less than 6 weeks and desperately trying to finish two handmade Christmas gifts in time for the holiday, I haven't had any free time in forever. I've got a couple other posts to write, but they probably won't go up until the new year. Keep an eye out, though!

So today was Abby's last dance class. Oh my heavens, how she loves dance class! We signed her (and PJ) up for classes starting in January, and this time she'll be taking ballet *and* tap.

At today's class, though, they put on a show at the end to demonstrate all the stuff they've learned over the 8 week session. They'd put butcher paper over the windows so we couldn't see in, and when Miss Joy came to get us 10 minutes before class was done, we walked in to find the girls in "picture pose" and in costume! (I didn't have my phone, can you believe it?! But a friend took pictures and promised to send them, so as soon as I get them I'll add them to this post.) They all--even Abby--sat nice and still for the cameras; Abby was even smiling! After the parents had satisfied their need for pictures, Miss Joy started them off on the first of two performances.

They were all adorable, of course. But Abby was one of maybe 2 or 3 kids that actually stayed with the teacher the whole time. (Miss Joy stood in the corner and did the moves with them.) They twirled, they tapped their toes, they did cute little beginner ballet moves, and when the song was over and the applause began, Abby burst into tears and ran to my lap.

This set off a chain reaction, and soon the performers 'on stage' numbered half of what they had. Miss Joy gave everyone a minute to compose themselves, then asked if they'd like to do it again. The 3 that had remained up front wanted to dance again, but none of the girls that had retreated to their parents wanted to. Miss Joy (who is awesome, awesome, awesome with the kids) said they was okay, they could sit and watch their classmates and see what it looked like when they danced in front of others.

The music started again. They danced in their circle, then formed a line to show off all their moves...

and then...

are you sitting down?...

Abby went back up.

Yes. You read that right. With tears still on her cheeks and her little mouth in a serious frown, without a single word from me or anyone else, Abby ran back up and finished out the dance with her classmates. And this time, she was the only one who followed the dance all the way though.

'Course, when it was all over, she started crying again and didn't stop for about half an hour. "I don't like people watching me dance in my dance class" was the only explanation I got out of her, about 20 minutes later. But contrary to that, LIttle Miss Spunky sure showed everyone what she was made of!

Braver and braver, this one. She pet a snake and a giant millipede last week at a zoo party, she pet a lobster and held an empty lobster shell at Red Lobster last night, and now, in front of a dozen (or two dozen, once you add in all the siblings that were there) strangers, she not only danced, but she was willing to dance again even though everyone had seen her run off stage in tears.

Way to go, Little Dancer!!!

Updates by Dan

2010-11-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a good week for me.

* I am down from 245+ to 228 as of yesterday morning. That makes 17+ pounds lost since September 24th, or about five and a half weeks. What is even more encouraging is that the weight has been lost despite the fact that I have not done nearly as well as I could have health-wise during this time. Right now, the weight loss is due primarily to lower calorie intake - which is no bad thing - and knowing this, I am even more excited about the results to come as I work in a more regular exercise routine, and some better foods. I'll keep you posted.

* We tweaked out daily schedule just a bit and it has been great for me. Long story short, by adding an hour a day, four days a week, to Ali's "official" schedule, I am able to take Wednesdays and do what I like with them. This is our first week and I have already accomplished more than I usually do, and have a much better attitude to boot, which is good for everyone around me.

* Silver Wheaton (SLW) - you know, the one I started telling you all about nearly two years ago when it was $3.60, has jumped another $2.12 today and is at $31.73. Silvercorp (SVM) is up $1.11 to $11.13 (bought it around $5). Hecla Mining (HL)is up .46 today to $7.42 (bought at $6.10), and Kinross (KGC) is up .60 to $18.41 (bought around $16 or so). Flawed economies - not just unstable, but flawed - combined with elections will do this.

* And perhaps most wonderful of all, as most of you already know, Abby had her first dance class this week and she did marvelous! We were all on pins and needles waiting to see how it would turn out. She really struggles with shyness, being put on the spot, and all that stuff. We were fully prepared for her to simply turn around and walk out when she got there. But she didn't! She jump right in and danced with the other girls. She is really starting to come out of her shell more and more each day. Like most dads, I know, but I can't begin to express how much I love those girls.

I think there will be some more pictures coming - I think. We'll see.

Halloween!

2010-10-31T19:59:00.001-07:00

We've never done Halloween with the girls before. Abby has dressed up in the past, but we've never trick-or-treated. We decided this year to give it a shot because the girls were actually asking to and really wanted to. I had my doubts about how it would go once we were actually at a stranger's door, but they both stunned me by actually saying "Trick or treat!" and "Thank you!"--AND by actually posing nicely for a photo, which is a serious rarity.

When we got home we let them pig out a tiny bit. They're not used to such sugary stuff, though, so what usually happened is they'd open something, take a bite or two, then throw it out and try something else. PJ, as you can see, has a real affinity for suckers:

(Not that she finished a single one.) Whoppers, candy corn, Smartees, Nerds, and Pixie Stix were also samples and pitched. (Well, *I* ate the candy corn, and I think Abby ate all the Whoppers, which is a bummer because I was totally banking on finishing them for her.) And in between taste tests they helped pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters that came to the door. We bought 4 bags of candy and went through them all!!

But the BEST part of today happened this morning at 7:40 AM when Kyle and Kelli welcomed their first baby, a daughter named Brighton Angelina, into the world!! Happy birthday, little Brighton! We can't wait to snuggle you!

Garden of the Gods

2010-10-23T18:54:00.001-07:00

Despite the fact that the forecast predicted rain, we decided to go down to Colorado Springs and at least check out a couple stores we wanted to see.

Pike's Peak on the drive down to Colorado Springs:

After we got there, though, the clouds cleared (never did see any rain) and we thought we might as well check out Garden of the Gods. Sooooo glad we did!

From the Visitor's Center:

First off, the Visitor's Center isn't that fantastic--unless you're a shopaholic. Then it's nirvana. Especially if you like tumbled rocks. I've never seen colors like these before, and if it weren't for the fact that they had slices of these geodes in these same colors I wouldn't have believed they were all naturally-occurring.

After we pried ourselves away from the gift shop, we drove around the road that loops through the park.

Some out-the-window shots...

...and one out-the-sunroof one:

We found the Trading Post somewhere along there, a building that was first constructed in 1929 and has been added onto multiple times since then to now house even more shopping heaven, as well as a cafe. Stopped there (of course), grabbed some fresh popcorn for the ride home, and then headed back so our very exhausted children (no nap at that point yet for PJ = not a happy camper, though the popcorn helped) didn't totally and completely melt down.

We're super excited to go back with the stroller and better shoes so we can walk the trails and do a little hiking. I'm also looking forward to going back in the snow--the red of the rocks (which these pictures do not do justice) with the white of the snow will be amazing!

Updates with Dan

2010-10-19T21:23:00.001-07:00

Dan here. Today was the first day of my new diet thingy. It went....interestingly. I'm not going to get into this too much, but suffice it to say that a couple of shakes and a good meal are the cornerstone of the diet part. Well, the shake part of the cornerstone tasted like crap. That was very disappointing. All hope is not lost though. The shake itself is really just a vehicle for some coconut oil and especially a huge dose of egg whites (the most usable form of protein around). Since Ali has come up with some amazing green shakes, I am going to tweak her recipe a bit and get myself all set up. The good news is that in addition to getting what I need, I will also be getting more servings of green vegetables in about two days than I have had combined in 38 years. Woo Hoo! I will probably write more later on Voxdan.

Went out to grab some books at the library today only to discover halfway there that something is wrong with our battery - and, dare I say it (I dare, I dare), our alternator. This is on top of bad brakes, bad power steering, tires seriously in need of rotation, and a few other smaller things. When it rains it pours. I was just getting ready to take it in for those other things. I suppose it's a good thing that the battery exposed itself before I did though - now I can give them all my money....er....have it all taken care of at once. Yay! So, instead of risking the 30+ minute drive to the nearest Honda dealer in a car that could stall at any moment, we are going to call AAA early in the morning and have them take it down for us. I'll deal with Honda over the phone (a conversation I have already initiated), and find my way down there - hopefully the same day - with either my first born or my right arm and leg, in a borrowed car, maybe??? We'll see. I'll let you know how it goes, if I remember.

So, that is what' happening right now, at 10:44pm, as I wait for the melatonin to kick in. Yup, Dan is actually trying to go to bed earlier. It's all part of the new Dan. I decided that I want to either lose my weight or most of it by my 38th birthday in January (or at least be well on my way) and spend the next two years preemptively kickin forty in the ass. Lord willing, we will be an ATV'ing, camping, hiking, kayaking, exploring, shooting, Colorado good-time having family by then, which is another way of saying, I will not have died of fatness. Hey, I have lost 11.5 pounds in the last 6 weeks just thinking about beginning my diet. That's a good start.

A couple funny kids quotes...

2010-10-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

File under "Short Attention Span:"

Lately Abby has been writing songs for God. The last one was to the tune of "Frere Jacques." "I love you, God; I love you, God, I love you! I love you! Thanks for making Jesus, thanks for making Jesus..." Then she petered out to ask PJ if she wanted to watch her flush the toilet.

***

The girls and I were playing camping this evening. This always involves "fishing"--we typically use a bunch of beanbags as our fish and usually I'll name them according to the kind of cloth they are (the pinkish ones are salmon, the ones with stars are starfish, etc.). Tonight, however, we all named our own...

Me: "Oh! I caught something! Look, a rainbow trout!"

Abby: "I got something! It's a beanbag silka fish!"

Penny Jane: "I got something too! It's...it's...it's Robert! That a good name?"

Estes Park Happenings

2010-09-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Well, maybe not that extreme--in either direction--but we did have a lot of fun along with some really sucky times, too.

We got there on Tuesday after an uneventful drive, and took a brief drive around town to kill time until check-in. This included a stop at Laura's, a candy/cookie/chocolate/ice cream store that the Mittelbergs recommended to us. It wasn't cheap. But it was soooo worth it.

For the rest of the trip the girls would ask with annoying frequency when we were going back.

Once we got there we had a period of frustration--the room was not what we were expecting. Kind of a bummer. But we set up house and I took the girls down to the play area to stretch their legs for a bit before dinner.

The next morning the girls were up at their usual bright and early hour, so at snack time I took them downtown for a snack at Kind Coffee, a little indie place on the Riverwalk, and after we ate we took a little time down along the water to play before going to the library (which was really nice!) to kill time before lunch.

Gluten-free chocolate chip pumpkin muffin. To. Die. For.

For the last couple weeks Dan's been showing the girls pictures of things to do in EP, and one of the things they latched onto was bowling. Every five minutes after we arrived one of them would ask when we were going, so that was our first post-lunch stop. Chipper's is a chain around Colorado, and the pictures on the website were definitely not of the EP location. Eight lanes (which we're convinced were not level--at least not ours) in a dodgy-looking building, one guy behind the counter and not another soul in the place besides us, but when you're four you don't care--you just want your turn to come back around.

They had this great little ramp--just aim and push!

'Course PJ just *had* to try it the old-fashioned way--which resulted in the lone guy behind the counter having to walk to the middle of the alley where the ball had stopped and bring it back for us.

Maybe next year you'll be strong enough to granny-roll it to the end, kiddo. But for now we'll stick to the ramp.

When we were done we went to the visitors center to see what we could find, and ended up with a map of Rocky Mountain National Park. PJ's occupational therapist had told us about a one-way dirt road that went up the mountain to a visitor center, and we found it on the map and decided to give it a try.

Well. Let us say this is not a drive for the faint of heart--especially if you're faint of heart because of heights. Or rather, very steep drop-offs. Or driving in the rain. On pothole-pitted dirt roads. But--despite the multiple mutterings of, "This is nuts" over the nine mile (at about 15 miles an hour) drive, it was *so* worth the time. The scenery was just amazing.

Yes, that would be ice.

We took a paved road back down the mountain and straight into downtown, where we found Chicago's Best, a restaurant one of my Facebook friends had recommended. The restaurant itself wasn't anything to write home about, but the food was great. Calzones, hot dogs, garlic cheese bread, and enough for two meals. After that we went home and hung out on our balcony singing silly songs and watching the sunset and snuggling together when it got really cold.

PJ took this one. Not bad, eh?

Thursday was not a good day. After complaining since waking up about a sore stomach, Abby threw up at 9...and 10...and 11:30...then crashed out on the couch. She got bored being home even though she was still throwing up, so we went back into the national forest and drove around through one of the camping areas to see what it was like. By the time we left, we were totally psyched to go camping--we're planning on giving it a shot next year when PJ is a little older. We also took a brief stop to talk a little walk partway around Lake Sprague.

When we got home we barbecued our dinner, and the girls went to bed, poor Abby still throwing up now and then. She woke up around 9:30 and hung out with us in the living room for a while, was sick one last time, then went to bed with me around 11.

Friday was our last day. We let the girls spend the morning in front of the Disney Channel (thanks for the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse marathon, Disney!) while we packed up the place, then checked out at 11 and went downtown to visit a couple places. I picked up a beautiful skein of yarn at a local yarn shop, and we had lunch at Penelope's, which boasted the best hamburger in town. (It was indeed a tasty burger, though I don't think I'd label it the best in town, and their prices certainly didn't encourage you to keep coming back.) After that we drove back into the national park and took the paved road back up to the top, hoping to get the photos we'd wanted to get on Wednesday but couldn't because of the rain. When we got to the Alpine Visitors Center at the top, it was snowing! Tiny crumbs of snow were blowing, not really landing and definitely not accumulating, but still. Snow. The second week of September. Insane! But it was only partly cloudy, and as you can see the views were incredible. These pictures do them no justice at all.

Abby and I got out at one of the lookout points on the way up. Here is her...

...surveying this.

We also finally saw some wildlife! We hadn't seen anything "cool" the first two times we'd gone in, and the girls kept asking when they were going to see something. We'd really hoped to see some moose, but this pack of elk and this industrious marmot (that was building a nest in that pipe) were fun to watch, too.

We made a last-minute decision to go home via Winter Park, rather than going back down the mountain towards EP. Why not, right? We figured it would be a great way to scout out the area, since we'd heard a lot of people talking about it. At first we questioned our decision...turns out they were down to one lane in two different spots within the park, and then again just outside of Winter Park. Ages of idling and having to yet again answer, "Why aren't we moving?"

Turns out Winter Park isn't much of anything in the off-season, but hey, now we know. We did, however, find Hernando's Pizza and Pasta Pub, a fun (and really really yummy) restaurant with excellent food and very reasonable prices. (Their "thing" is collecting dollar bills that customers decorate for them. In 2005, they had over 15,000 dollar bills decorating the restaurant. They're on the tables, on the walls, on the ceilings...I'd love to know how many they have now!

(I had a better picture of this, but apparently my phone ate it. But on the wall behind PJ you can see a few rows of them hanging.)

The rest of the drive home was uneventful. Beautiful sunset, though...

We got back just at bedtime, and the girls crashed out pretty quick despite having napped on the way home.

As with almost all vacations, it was lovely to be home and to sleep in our own bed. But, despite the bumps along the way, we really did enjoy Estes Park. We can't wait to go back--and maybe next time we'll sleep in a tent!

Estes Park, Baby!

2010-09-05T10:59:00.001-07:00

So, it's Sunday and we are almost on our way to Estes Park! The whole family is very excited. It is really the first family vacation we have been on in...well...maybe ever. We've visited family, gone a few places with Lee and Leslie, and had a few day trips, but this is the first time I can think of when we were going by ourselves, someplace we have never been, with the sole purpose of relaxing and just having a good time with nothing on the schedule. Woo Hoo!

Before we leave Tuesday morning though, we first have to get ready for a little Labor Day BBQ! The Smith's are coming down for some grillin' and chillin' (I was sorry the minute I typed that). Anyways, should be fun. We love the Smith's and are children love to play together. I wish we all lived closer.

But back to Estes Park. Our room is amazing (a floor plan is below), and the area is beautiful (a few other pictures below). I founds some activities to keep us busy and the girls can't stop talking about them. We found a bowling ally with a preschoolers time where games are only $2 and shoes are free, a few family fun parks with mini-golf, bumper boats and all that good stuff, and a handful of other things to do. The Mittelbergs said we had to go to an amazing ice cream shop up there called Laura's. I was even more excited when, after looking into it, I found that Laura's is also a fudge shop and candy store! I put a picture of that below too.

So, again, we are all very excited. Please pray for travel mercies and a blessed time. We will tell you all how it went when we get back.

Thank you, Dora

2010-09-02T06:34:00.001-07:00

Abby: Mom, what else rhymes with 'go'?

Me: Bow, row, flow, so, no, glow--

PJ: Cinco!

(Now, what's really impressive is that she not only got the rhyme right, but that she's only heard 'cinco' a handful of times, and hasn't heard it in at least a week. Though, I guess at this age that's all it takes for things to sink in to their wee little sponge brains, eh?)

PJ the artiste

2010-08-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

PJ drew her first truly representational pictures the other day--they're so cute!

In the upper left we have Abby. Dan said when she first finished it, one of the eyes was just a big empty circle. Dan said, "Why don't you add a pupil to that empty eye?" To his surprise, she knew exactly what he meant and added a big dot in the empty circle.

The two somewhat circular shapes in the top middle were her first attempts at circles for Abby's head. She drew one and said, "Whoops! That not right!", drew another and said the same thing, then drew the final circle that actually became the picture of Abby.

At the bottom are two Christmas trees. :) The other lines and stuff--no idea what her little mind was aiming for. Oh, and the person is Dan's work. :)

Pennyisms

2010-08-05T20:33:00.001-07:00

An update to the Penny Jane lexicon:

kajamas = the cute outfits you get to sleep in

gabella = the fun toy that keeps you dry when it rains

prettiful = what you call lovely things

Alpacas!

2010-07-24T20:27:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the Peak Ranch Alpaca Farm in Monument. Only half an hour away, this sweet family has this awesome ranch, and they have activities once a month in the summer for the public where they have some kind of demonstration and some kind of event. Today's demonstration was weaving, and the event was an ice cream social. Yum!

We had total blast. The girls literally bawled when we said it was time to go. Between the petting corral...

(Cute video of the girls trying to feed them.)
the ice cream...

the weaving...

(Great video of Abby catching on to the whole weaving thing really quickly.)

the trampoline...

(Fun video of the girls on the trampoline.)

the store (sorry, no picture of that, but you'll have to trust me that they've got a ton of awesome stuff), and, of course, the adorable alpacas...

(Super cute video of mamas and babies and the girls with their ice cream.)

it was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. We will definitely be going back. They actually open the ranch every day to the public, so you don't even need to wait for an event to attend, that's just icing on the cake. (Or ice cream on the cone, if you will.)

(And forgive me for not embedding the videos--Blogger's embed function has sorta sucked lately--and not cutting them down--yes, a couple of them are sorta long, but it's a pain in the patootie to edit them.)

And suddenly...

2010-07-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Out of nowhere PJ seems to have figured out how to eat. Her therapist has been so impressed with how quickly she's improving, and this week we had her 6 month review with the organization we receive therapy through, and she'd hit three of the five goals we'd set back in January! Really all that's left is working on the sensory stuff and to strengthen her jaw for chewing things like meat and carrots with her molars.

Not that the weak muscles are slowing her down now. The other night she ate 3/4 of a cup of cheesy rice (the first time she'd had it, too, which is really impressive for a sensory kid, because they typically get wigged out by foods with mixed textures) and somewhere around 4 ounces of grilled chicken! She doesn't eat that well at all meals, but every once in a while she'll have a meal like that where you start wondering if she's got two stomachs. We've got a weigh-in coming at the STAR Center next week, and I can't wait to see how much she's gained since the first week of May.

We were down to nursing only to sleep and in the middle of the night, but she's been cutting her 2 year molars, so I've let her nurse during the day a little bit, too. I wasn't sure what that would do to her eating of solids, but she'll actually sit up and ask for food when she's done, so I'm not worried now!

Quick Update - or not so quick

2010-07-12T09:59:00.001-07:00

Dan here. I see that we have not updated this thing in far too long, so let me bring some of you up to speed.

Having said that, I realize that I don't have much to say. Fortunately, Alison has some pictures and even some video on our cameras that will eventually make it on here. I know at least some of that will include a few shots of our Fourth of July festivities. We had a great day. Around noon Ali and PJ took part in the neighborhood parade. Abby had her bike all decorated, but decided at the last second that there were just too many people out there. That's my girl. So Abby and I dropped off the other two and headed back to the park where the parade would end and the playing would begin.

As you will see in the video, Castle Rock Fire Department led the way with a big engine and brought up the rear with one of the Emergency Rescue vehicles. Sirens blaring, a ton of kids and a few parents filled in the gaps, making their way through the neighborhood on bikes, scooters, trikes and whatever else they had available. It was fun.

I have to say, CRFD is pretty awesome. These guys are happy participants in a ton of stuff around the town. They are an integral and active part of the community. Not long after we moved, the girls all made some cookies and took them down there. From what I heard, the whole house gathered round and couldn't get enough of the toddler decorated treats. At the parade they let kids (and parents) climb all over the engine while they answered questions and look burly. I haven't been to many town events of which they were not a big part.

The park everyone marched to had a giant bouncy house that the girls attempted but quickly untempted due to a rash of larger boys being - well - larger boys. Fortunately, there was still the tire swing that they love which we managed to procure for a few minutes. After a little swinging, a little small talk, and all that, we needed to head home for naps because pretty soon Chloe was going to be here!

That's right, the Smith family came over and we enjoyed the rest of the holiday with them. I BBQ'd some pretty decent burgers, among other things, and we all ate well. That is, we ate a lot - not well really. Abby, Chloe, Penny and Colin all played and had a good time while the adults got to speak to other adults, which was nice.

Not unlike last year, rain played a deciding factor when it came to fireworks. I managed to buy a bag of goodies, as we are actually allowed to fire them off here in town - something I have not been allowed to do for many years. The girls had never seen fireworks, apart from way off in the distance or on TV. Let me tell you, it can be intimidating trying to put together a firework show - unless you are doing it for two and four year olds! Just about anything you do is met with giddy scream and girly squeals. And thank goodness because I'm not sure $40 worth of fireworks could have satisfied anyone else.

Anyways, like a madman, I managed to get about 25 fuses lit as the rain fell. It was very windy and moving toward showers, but the little fountains managed to stay standing long enough and dry long enough to do their thing. There is probably some footage of it somewhere. We'll see. Maybe. Of course, the sparklers were a hit and the girls enjoyed nearly burning each other with them under our front porch as the rain fell and daddy cursed the wind under his breath.

This was supposed to be short. Of course, anyone who knows me knows how unlikely that was. I better leave the rest for another post. In the coming days and weeks we will be posting more photos, telling more stories, and announcing a new website! Stay tuned.

The House Next Door is for Sale!

2010-06-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

Dan here: You know you all want to come live next door to us! Get on with it. Colorado is awesome and Castle Rock is awesome - don't you want to be awesome too?

Now's your chance. Bring your libertarian or conservative values, Christian faith, and young children between 1 and 5 and get moved in. No young children? Then you better be my parents. I'll even help you move and I hate moving!*

Smith Family? Greena and Par? Cool people on GCM or CAP or both? Come on. You know you want to. Think of the children?

* by "help you move" I mean, I will stand around and chat with you on the day you move in, offering encouraging words and maybe a beverage. Unless their is a game on.

In the land of make believe

2010-06-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Abby and PJ were playing trapeze artist. In Abby's world, trapeze artists introduce themselves to the audience. So she says, "Hi, my name is Abby, and I'm from California." Then, pointing to PJ, "Oh, and this is my baby. She's from space."

***

Abby and I were playing doctor. I was the patient and was instructed to "be sick with something different." So when she came over, I said, "Doctor, help! I can't feel my feet!"

Abby looks at me, skeptical, then looks at my feet and smiles. "Oh! But guess what? You *do* still have feet!"

"I know I still have them--I just can't feel them."

Frowns. "Hm. Well, let me check your ears."

She shoves the end of a paintbrush in my ear. I squawk in pain. "Well, your ears are okay."

We'll see about that, I think, ear throbbing. "So why can't I feel my feet?"

She stands, looks me over, then gets a look of concern on her face. "Hey--can you really not feel your feet, or are you just pretending?"

I have no idea how to answer this question. Is she talking to her mom, or to her patient? "Um...well, we're playing pretend, so yes, I'm pretending. But the pretend me can't feel my feet."

This is apparently the answer she was looking for. She picks up a play spatula. "Do you know what this is?"

"No."

"It's a special light. So you can look at your bones. And it's also a protector, so if your bones are broken, it will protect them. Lift your foot."

"I can't lift my foot, I can't feel it."

She rolls her eyes and hoists my foot, then promptly drops it down. "Your feet are heavy." She hoists again, taps the spatula over my foot, then the other. "Okay. I'm going to give you pills." She holds up a foam bead. "This is a sucky pill. You suck on it until you can smell the taste, then you swallow it." Holds up another bead. "This is a regular pill. You just swallow it." Another. "This is another sucky pill, sort of--you suck it until you can chew it, then you chew it and swallow." Another, though half the size of the others. "This one is for teething."

"But I'm not teething."

"I know. That's why it's small." She hands me the pills. "You'll feel better tomorrow. Come back last week with your bill. But if you have to come before that, then just give me a call."

So there you go--the future of western medicine is safe, complete with unnecessary tests, a handful of pills, and encouragement to keep coming back for more. Though I do like her payment plan.

Happy Colorado Morrows Day!

2010-06-23T12:07:00.001-07:00

One year ago today we moved into our new home here in Castle Rock. I honestly can't believe it's been a whole year already. We've done so much, but at the same time, I remember our move so clearly that it's surprising to realize it was so long ago. We love our home (though Abby often reminds us that she'd rather live in the blue house next door--simply because it is blue), we love Colorado, we're making friends and have learned our way around pretty well. It definitely feels like home. But that's not to say that we've forgotten or don't miss our friends and family back in Cali. We're really hoping to make a trip back sometime this year to visit, and I hope we see you all when we do! And don't forget we've got the best guest bedroom east of the Rockies, so if you're ever looking for a little vacation spot, we can totally hook you up. :)

Let's play "Where's Abby?"

2010-06-22T17:45:00.001-07:00

Cars cars cars

2010-06-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

One year ago yesterday we piled into the car and waved goodbye to California as we began our three day trek to Colorado. So it was fitting that we celebrated by going to a car show downtown in Castle Rock. Though these cars were a lot cooler than the Odyssey.

In typical Castle Rock fashion, the streets were blocked off, live surf music was playing, and there was fun stuff for the kids--though in a rare fail they were charging waaaaayyy too much for the little games, so we didn't do them. There were about six blocks' worth of cars and a bunch of other random kiosks and tents, so it was fun to walk around and just people (and car) watch.

We went to Siena afterwards for lunch, and in the courtyard outside were all the Ferraris.

Inside they were playing James Bond soundtracks. Totally fit the feel of the day. Abby started in on her first weaving project while we waited, which she really enjoyed until it was time to put on the bands going in the opposite direction and actually start weaving.

On the way back to the car we discovered a cottonwood tree that was absolutely spewing fuzzies.

We see them all over town but I've never actually seen a cottonwood tree anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if this one was the sole source, given how much was flying around above it.

Overall the show really exceeded our expectations. We thought there'd maybe be on parking lot of cars, or maybe one street's worth. But to have six blocks closed off and tons of cars and people...well, it's another reason why I love Castle Rock.

House guest

2010-06-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

Someone came by to drop something off yesterday morning, and when I opened the door she said, "Move slowly--you have a visitor." Then I saw what she was staring at.

To get an idea of this thing's size, check out the nail sticking out of the post below it. Yeah, this sucker's big.

She happened to be an outdoor enthusiast and told me right off, "That's a cecropia moth." I had no idea moths got that big--I thought that size was reserved for butterflies. She pointed out that it was fuzzy, and that moths are fuzzy while butterflies are smooth. The things you learn from random Freecyclers!

There was another one as well, though I didn't get a picture of it, clinging to the rock wall of our porch pillar. I don't know if they were born here or just passing through; one website I found while looking them up said they have one flight from March-July, so it might be they were just resting along the way. Smart little things, traveling with a buddy.

The girls were, as you can imagine, awestruck. PJ repeatedly stuck her finger out to try to get it to climb on--that's her new thing with bugs these days, especially ladybugs. And, apparently, moths larger than her hand.

It was still hanging out on the porch the last time I looked, though it had relocated to a less conspicuous space. It's made me even more eager to go to the Butterfly Pavilion up in Broomfield; my friend Christina lives just minutes from there, so we really need to take the girls up for a playdate there. PJ will be in heaven!

Just five bucks

2010-05-25T15:53:00.001-07:00

I just posted this on my other blog--why not head over to Storing Up Treasures and help those families?

Our ducks won!

2010-05-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Three of the five ducks that we sent down Plum Creek on Saturday won prizes! We had two phone calls on the machine last night--a total of $55 worth of giftcards to three stores/restaurants here in town. How cool is that?! You should have seen Abby's face when I told her. :D

a bunch of posts...

2010-05-23T14:51:00.001-07:00

If you haven't been here since I posted about geocaching, then make sure you keep scrolling after you read the Ducky Derby post. In fact, go all the way back to the geocaching post because now there are pictures! Yippee!

Castle Rock Ducky Derby!

2010-05-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the thirteenth annual Ducky Derby here in Castle Rock, organized by the local Rotary Club. You sponsor a duck by buying a ticket, and the first four hundred ducks to cross the finish line (or rather, enter the finish tube, as you'll see) win prizes donated by local businesses, as well as cash prizes. They close off a couple streets downtown and have a street fair, but then in the afternoon they launch the ducks--over eight thousand of them this year!--in Plum Creek, where they sail along for about a mile while everyone follows along on the bike or hiking paths.

The girls and I met my mom and her friend Ben, who was visiting from Oklahoma, and we checked out the fun. (Bev took a lot of the earlier pictures, so when she sends them to me I'll put them up.) We started at Dream Pastries for a mid-morning snack, which is the cafe that was adjacent to our favorite coffee shop that closed. Dream Pastries took over their space and expanded, and now it's a really cute little shop! We've already claimed the big round table in the back corner as ours. I foresee many mornings spent there as the girls get older, homeschooling or reading or playing or whatever.

From there we went down to the street fair, where the wind was making things a bit more interesting. There were wisps of cotton candy flying through the air, and when it got *really* gusty folks had to hang onto the frames of the EZ-Ups to keep them from blowing over. A shame, really, but folks here are used to it so it didn't put too much of a damper on things.

Big Duck, the aptly if not somewhat uncreatively named mascot of the Ducky Derby, was strolling around for photo ops. Abby of course wanted nothing to do with him and insisted we go in the opposite direction whenever we spotted him. PJ, on the other hand, insisted on seeing him because "I want to hug Ducky!" Though once we got there she changed her tune and said to me, "No, *you* hug Ducky." (cute photos coming)

There were businesses and crafty things set up, and also a collection of raptors. (really cool pictures coming!) Sort of an odd thing to have there, since one might consider birds of prey to not be the best ting around ducks, but I guess they're smart enough to tell the rubber ones from the real ones.

We went to lunch after a while at Siena, which I've been dying to try, and it was *really* good. (Great service, too.) After that we went back to the amphitheater to listen to the music for a while (PJ kept insisting on "more music!") and then I took the girls home so I could put PJ down for her nap. Once she was asleep, Abby and I went back for the REAL fun.

We were the first behind the duckmobile, which was bringing the vat o' duckies to the launch site. (There was another HUGE tub of ducks as well as what was inside that yellow box.)

Oh, the humanity! A little hard to tell in this photo, but the parade of people extends far, far into the distance. I'd love to know how many people came to the actual launch, because it was seriously packed. And I was so impressed with Abby--this was a long walk, and she traipsed along without a single complaint, even in the heat (close to 80!). Here is the whole route:

The street fair was at Perry Street and 2nd. Just below 2nd Street, to the west of Perry, you can see a little paved path--it goes under Wilcox, and then continues west to go under the freeway. the launch was under the freeway (yay for shade!), and the creek turns and flows north (yes, you read that right, it flows north) to the west of the walking path. We walked all the way up until the path takes a little jog to the left, crossing over the creek so that the path ends up to the west of the creek. That bridge over the creek was the finish line. Quite the trek for a 4-year-old!

When we got under the freeway for the launch, they took quite a while maneuvering the duckmobile to the edge of the creek.

But once they got it in position....

The little river of ducks really was pretty amazing. And then off we went to follow them!

Once Abby saw there was an off-road trail, she took it. For someone who doesn't like bugs and getting dirty, she sure was excited about walking through the grass and bushes. She kept wanting to go off the path, too, but with little patches of mini cacti around (and who knows what else) Mommy was a killjoy and said no. But in all honestly I'm looking forward to when she's a little older and more mature and I can let her wander around down there. Great goecaching spots, too!

Occasionally the ducks get caught up in some bend in the creek or in the branches of a fallen tree, so a bunch of teenaged boys follows the ducks along and hopped in to whack them back into the flow of the creek with lacrosse sticks.

And then, the finish line!

An orange plastic fence funnels the ducks into a trough that's only one duck wide. They put a big PVC pipe at the end and in the ducks go. They filled probably ten of these huge pipes, then loaded them back onto the duckmobile to be brought back to 2nd and Perry, where they recorded the first 150 winning numbers for everyone to see. Then they started shoveling the rest of the ducks into a big bin to be saved for next year.

There were some openings in that orange fence, however, so ducks kept escaping downcreek. A couple of tween-aged kids were in there to catch them, and Abby, in a rare show of daring and hutzpah, wanted to join them.

(This video is really long, but because I can't open it in iMovie I can't edit it. There's nothing that interesting past about the 2 minute mark, other than me trying to get Abby to come out, so feel free to move on before it finishes.)

It took a LOT of cajoling to get this child out of the water. And even then, she insisted on sitting on the edge of the path and dangling her feet in the creek while we watched them shovel ducks.

Only the knowledge that one of our numbers might be on the winner's board finally got her back into her shoes.

On the way back to town, she told me she wanted to do four things. (It started as two, but the list kept growing.) She wanted to look for our numbers and see if we won. She wanted to go back to the amphitheater and run and roll down the hill a few more times. She wanted to see the people in the costumes. (There was a prince, a princess, a jester, and two fairies there promoting the Renaissance Faire that takes place in Larkspur, the don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it town just south of Castle Rock. When we'd seen them before she was a little freaked out by them, but on the way back she said, "I'm not shy of the fairies or the jester anymore. But I still don't want to see the prince.") And she wanted a snack. That she had any energy left to think of doing anything but getting home really amazed me.

And once we got back, all her wishes came true. All the costumed people were walking together on their way out, right towards us, and the jester played all shy when he saw Abby and hid behind the princess. It was really cute. Then we hit the hill so she could do her thing, which exhausted me just watching her.

Running back up so she can roll...

Rolling for the first time (forgive the sideways videos; I can't get them to load in iMovie so I can't flip them):

...and then using Mama as a crash pad:

After that we checked out the winner's board...

...but we hadn't won anything so far, so after I convinced Abby that we would still get our prize if they put our number up after we left, we went back to Dream Pastries for cupcakes and a very big bottle of water.

She's been asking me all day when the next Ducky Derby will be. She had such a great time, and I really did too. This was just another of those small town traditions that makes me really love living here in Castle Rock. Quack!

Boulder!

2010-05-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

It was a gorgeous day, the girls had woken up fairly late, and we were itching to do something new. So we decided to go up to Boulder last Sunday, and it turned out to be a great day to do it--gorgeous weather *and* a street arts and crafts fair!

We went down to Pearl Street which has, over about three blocks, a pedestrian only area, which is where the street fair was set up. They've got these little tulip gardens everywhere, and the colors were just beautiful.

After taking a tour of the whole area to see what all there was, we went back to this little rock garden where kids were climbing around so the girls could get out of the stroller for a while.

This is PJ checking out the feeling of the little pebbles on her feet. She eventually took both shoes off, then walked over to me and asked me to put them back on. Abby, on the other hand, was running all over the place barefoot!

In front of this play area was an interesting gentleman playing violin, barefoot, in a white tux:

He was amazing, and the girls--Abby especially, who really does seem to have a real appreciation for music--were enthralled.

After that we had a very yummy snack at Haute Cupcake, home of the famous (really--it was featured on one of those Food Network shows)...

Bacon-Topped Cupcake! Maple cake, chocolate frosting, and bacon crumbles. And it's really, really good.

I got PJ a cake pop (a cake ball on a stick covered in chocolate) but she didn't like it. (It wasn't *that* great, but it *was* chocolate and cake, so it certainly wasn't awful.) So I ate hers and gave her some of my classic vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. It was the sprinkles she was after, really.

Abby got a strawberry cupcake with strawberry frosting and wow, it was goooood.

Look at that cake! So pink! So yummy!

It was a really fun day, and I have to say I really liked Boulder. Lots of fun shops on Pearl Street, and Dan and I have it on our list of places to go for a day trip once we can leave the girls that long with Mom and Dad. It's got that great college town vibe going on, too--there were all sorts of little quartets and duets of college kids performing amidst the art stalls. Definitely a fun place to spend an afternoon--can't wait to do it again!

Hidden treasure (now with pictures!)

2010-05-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Uncle Andrew (Dan's brother) and his son Simon spent the weekend with us. While they were here, Andrew introduced us to the addicting outdoor hobby of geocaching. I've always wanted to try it and was so excited to finally have the chance, but I was skeptical about how the girls would do with it. Walking around looking for something that could be as big as a bucket (though possibly buried flush with the ground) or as small as a rifle bullet (and possibly tied to the branch of a tree) didn't seem like something that would hold their interest. But wow, did they love it!

The first one was just down the street from our house, in a field full of mini cacti and what I think one could accurately call bracken.

Simon ended up finding it, in the middle of a clump of bracken, and once the girls saw the kinds of things people leave in them--Happy Meal-type trinkets, a mini Garfield book on friendship--they were hooked. PJ: "Mama, we go find treasure? *ME* find it!" Abby: "Are we going to go look for more treasure? I want to find it this time."

The next one was a small cylinder zip-tied to the branch of an evergreen at a park not far from the first location.

The third was almost our first no-find; the clue said it was in a metal Saltines box (remember those?) but it turns out it was in a ziploc bag just barely under a layer of leaves.

The girls were so sad when we stopped for lunch and naps. We did a couple more after they woke up--I found the second under a rock at Castle Rock Park:

and Andrew found the first (under a metal box at the base of a light pole) and the third (another tiny cylinder, magnetically attached to a light pole at Centennial Park), and by that time it was getting darker and colder and we decided to call it a day. The girls were not happy, but they needn't worry--Dan and I are hooked and will undoubtedly start doing this regularly.

Abby's First Bike Ride

2010-04-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Dan here.

We promised Abby a new bike once she was potty trained. She fulfilled her part of the bargain about a million years ago. We just got around to our end yesterday. So, here is a quick little video keepsake I edited up.

The song is called Beautiful by Plankeye, one of my all-time favorite bands. The lyrics are amazing and perfect. I hope you will take the time to read them in the YouTube caption.

Watch the Video!

Out of the mouths of Abby and PJ

2010-04-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

We were driving back from Colorado Springs on Tuesday and Abby asked why we get home faster when she falls asleep. "It takes the same amount of time," I said. "It's just that you aren't aware of time when you're sleeping."

A minute later--and only about 10 minutes out of Colorado Springs--she says, "Are we almost home?"

"Well, no honey, we just left."

"Awww," she pouted, "but I had my eyes closed!"

Penny Jane developed a new 'script' that she says every.single.day when I put her down to sleep. As we're getting onto the bed: "Where's Daddy?" (even if she *just* saw him) and then "Where's Abby?" after I answer. Then, after she's nursed on one side, as we're switching sides she'll say, "Hap' birthday, Mom," give me a kiss, and say, "I kissed you!"

The birthday thing is pretty funny. She says it all the time now, to Dan and I. Ever day since her birthday. And she'll often break into the "Happy Birthday Song," too, though all she knows is the first two lines over and over and over. Sometimes she'll bring us some toy, say, "Close your eyes!" and then count, "One, two, one, surprise! Do you love it?"

Happy birthday, Penny Jane!

2010-03-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, how things change.

Penny's first birthday:

Penny's second birthday:

Last year we were hunting for sunscreen for the guests. Today we were making sure our pants were tucked into our boots so we didn't get snow in them.

We had a party planned for today, but because of the snowstorm we had to cancel it. Most of the guests were coming from either Denver or Colorado Springs, and snow accumulation here are really unpredictable; we didn't want any of our guests to get stranded on their way home. So the party is rescheduled for Wednesday, and today we just had our own little family celebration. PJ chose a double fudge cake and pink vanilla icing with sprinkles, and the girls helped me bake them, of course:

I'm not sure what made the difference, but WOW were the super light and fluffy. They were so airy that we ended up with 36 mini cupcakes and 23 regular sized ones! And I even forgot to follow the high altitude directions; usually when I do that they sink in the middle and are really dense. Weird.

After they were all out, we headed outside to frolic in the snow:

It was really nice out, despite the fact that it was still snowing. It must have been hovering just at 32* because part of the driveway was already melted and the snow actually packed! No powder! So that means we got to build a real snowman:

After I'd frosted them, I let Penny Jane decorate with the sprinkles. It was so cute watching her apply them tiny finger-pinch's-worth at a time:

And then, of course, this evening we did the candle and singing:

She blew out the candle all by herself on the second try!

So now I have a two year old. It's already proving to be a very different experience this time around. She is just *more* than Abby was in a lot of ways, behavior-wise. She's already throwing tantrums, already much more feisty than Abby was at this age. Three was the tough year for Abby. I think it's going to be this year with PJ. But with a face that cute:

giving you kisses (and occasionally licking you) how bad can it possibly be?

The Sensory Room

2010-03-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

It was recommended to us by the folks at the STAR Center that PJ (and Abby, too) be enrolled in a gym class of some kind because muscle input can help with sensory issues. We looked into them and realized we'd be spending around $100 a month if both of them took classes, and that just seemed a little nuts. So we started thinking about it and doing a little research, and decided to build our own sensory room in the basement.

The STAR Center gave us a ton of handouts and recommendations for stuff to put down there. Jumping is a big help with sensory stuff, so we decided to go all out. For PJ's birthday we bought this:

Needless to say, this has been a big hit today.

And speaking of PJ, her language is growing by leaps and bounds. This is a conversation she had with Dan after her first round in the bouncy house. Dan was in the kitchen making a snack, and PJ was sitting on the floor watching TV. Out of nowhere she says...

P: I love my bouncy house daddy!

D: You do?

P: Ya! Thank you daddy.

D: You’re welcome darling.

P: Daddy hugs?

D: You want a hug?

P: Uhh. (This is her version of yes.)

D: Of course honey.

[wonderful hugging]

P: Happy Birthday daddy.

D: Well, it’s your birthday honey. Happy Birthday to you. Your birthday is Friday.

P: We have a party?

D: Sure we’ll have a party.

P: Hats?

D: You want hats?

P: Uhh.

D: Sure. I think we can find some hats.

P: Thank you daddy.

*melt*

The post in which I brag about how awesome my kids are

2010-03-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

The girls are sick, again. Just colds again, thankfully--with PJ's exacerbated by some heinous teething--but regardless we've been sticking close to home to avoid spreading germs. I've been trying to take the kids out to places with indoor play areas at least once a week, but this week that obviously didn't happen. Both them and I were starting to get some serious cabin fever, so today I decided to figure out something we could do.

Normally if I'm looking for somewhere to go get a treat and hang out for a bit, we'll go to Crowfoot Valley. They've got a nice little back room with couches and toys, and the girls love going there. But again, because of the germs I didn't want to bring them there and have their snotty hands all over the toys. So instead I decided we'd bring our entertainment with us and go downtown to Dazbog. We packed up their backpacks--PJ's adorable ladybug one with the Nintendo DS and Abby's big-girl one with her Bugsby and book and her magnet dress-up bears. All three are toys that can each play, and they can both play with the bears at the same time, so I figured these would keep them both happy for at least half an hour.

We got drinks and muffins (one blueberry and one lemon poppyseed, yummy!) and set up camp in the back corner. Unfortunately, the only spot left with armchairs that actually had arms was right next to a lady sitting at a table doing a Bible study. I was worried we'd be distracting, so I pointed her out to the girls and we talked about how hard it is to think straight when kids are being loud. I figured if we had to leave, then at least we'd gotten out and gotten a treat and seen the light of day for once.

The girls hopped up into the two armchairs and took their plates on their laps. They both sat and ate for five solid minutes, looking around silently and occasionally drinking their little cups of water that I'd tucked next to them in the seats. When they were done, we swept up the crumbs (someone needs to invent a pocket-sized Dustbuster, I would totally get one) and got out their toys, and for the next HOUR they played quietly, sometimes together but mostly on their own, and they required so little from me that I was actually able to concentrate enough to work on learning a new crochet stitch. At one point the lady looked behind her at the girls, then looked at me and said, "They are so good!" I was so proud of them!

When it was time to go, there was no complaining, no pouting or tears. They helped me clean up, waited patiently while I gathered our trash and cleaned up their seats again (muffins are so darn CRUMBLY!), and followed me out like little baby ducklings. Into the car without a struggle, and home we came.

On the way to Dazbog I started wondering if I was nuts. Sick kids aren't known for their good behavior. Sick two- and four-year-olds are especially challenging when they're under the weather. But wow. I was so impressed and proud--and relieved. This opens up a whole new set of places we can go to get out of the house for a while. Suddenly all the days that we can't go out to 'kid places' don't seem to daunting.

Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum

2010-03-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

(My apologies on the giant images--I'm taking them straight from the web since I can't download them to my computer, and no matter how I set the parameters they keep coming up this way. Sorry!!)

When we were here on vacation last January, Dan and I went on a drive with the girls one afternoon to sightsee in the mountains. We stopped in Golden, a little town with a quaint historic main street that holds restaurants, an indie bookstore, and one of only six quilt museums in the country, the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.

It might not sound that exciting, but wow, these are absolutely beautiful works of art. They have a permanent collection of over 300 quilts, and lots of temporary exhibits, like their current one, "Wranglers Among Us", which is made up of quilts made by men, from retirees to high school students. It's a small place, basically just one big room, with about twenty quilts on display (at least right now), but I could have stayed there for an hour. Unfortunately, we barely made it 30 minutes because the girls were not quite as enamored with the quilts as Dan and I were. (Sorry there aren't any pictures, they don't allow photography in the museum.)

Across the street and down the block is the Golden Quilt Company, a sweet little fabric shop with tons of beautiful fabric and quilts for sale on the walls. Between that store and the museum I was pretty darn inspired--inspired enough to let Abby choose her own pack of fat quarters to buy so she can start her very first sewing project. Hopefully we'll have lots of pictures of that to post someday soon!

Our morning adventure ended with a dead car battery that Dan successfully jumped in the midst of snow flurries with a booster pack he bought ages ago as part of our car emergency kit. Boy was I thankful for his foresight! (And for a product that did what it was supposed to with zero fuss.) Three cheers for handy husbands!

We definitely want to go back in the spring when the weather is a little warmer so we can wanders the main street and check out the museum again--WITHOUT the girls, if possible. Or at least with girls who aren't teething and whining about how hungry they are. :)

Abby is reading!!

2010-03-05T18:43:00.001-08:00

What's really funny about all this is that, in the two days before this happened, I read two separate articles about children learning to read. They were both talking about how direct instruction of reading isn't always necessary, and that merely providing children with answers to their questions about language (what letter is that, what is that word, what sound does that letter make) and reading to them as much as possible will, in most instances, lead to the child learning to read herself.

And she did--in OfficeMax, of all places.

We were waiting for a fax to send, and the girls were wandering around the copy center area. The trash can was labeled TRASH, and Abby went over, looked at it, and sounded out, "T-R-A-S-H." We haven't done any letter stuff at all in weeks, so this came seemingly out of nowhere. "Good job," I said. "But when we see an S and an H together, they make a new sound, SH."

Abby looked at the letters again. "T-R-A-SH."

"That's right," I said, thinking she would move on to something else now. But instead, she sounded them out again, faster, but with the sounds all still separated. But then she stood up a little straight and said, "Oh--trash. Trash!!!"

After dinner that night, we started writing more words. Or, more accurately, *she* started writing them as I spelled them out for her, and then she'd sound them out. We did all the three-letter "ap" words (cap, sap, zap, etc.) and a few "ob" words (Bob, cob). Then tonight she asked to do more, so we did a few "at" words before she got bored and wanted to move on. But tonight's words came much more quickly and easily to her--she ran the sounds together much more readily.

She is so proud of herself, and I must admit I got a little teary watching my little baby read. On top of all this is the fact that we've started doing a children's catechism with her in the evenings, and she's already memorized all the answers to the first seven questions. That little sponge of a mind is working overtime these days!

Updates!

2010-02-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while, folks! Here are some updates...

PENNY JANE:
Oh, the talking! I think she's going to grow up to be a commentator. When we watch TV she talks about what's going on, constantly points thing out to you. "Awwww, baby! See? Sleeping. Awww. Cute. Look, Mama! Sad! Crying. Awww." On and on. It's hilarious. Though if you don't really look at the TV, and just sort of "Mm-hm" to her, she gets mad.

We get lots of spontaneous hugs with "I love you." (Though it's actually "I choo Mom." Yes. She calls me Mom. She's way too young to be saying that!)

She can count to ten now, though when she's counting "1, 2, 3, surprise!" she still says "1, 2, 1".

I think she's getting her two year molars. The last two days she's had four episodes of uncontrollable crying and furious screaming. Not fun, especially when it's 10:30 at night. :( I went to GentleChristianMothers.com to post and ask what was wrong, and found a post from someone else saying almost exactly the same thing. Everyone responded saying it sounded like 2 year molars. So out came the Motrin and we got a decent night's sleep.

The eating thing is still a problem. Sometimes she does really well trying lots of different kinds of foods, but then she'll go on a jag of only nursing and eating Cheerios. *sigh* Though she recently discovered clementine oranges, and holy cow, she LOVES them. Seriously addicted. She'll say, "Orangie?" and go crazy if I tell her no. (She adds "ie" to the end of everything. We're guilty of doing this with some words--sockies is a common one--but she tacks it on to everything. Nosie. Facie. Orangie.) She will "juice" each little section in her mouth, then cram the leftover pulp into her cheek. She had TWO ORANGES stuffed in there the other day. I told her she had to spit some out so she wouldn't choke and she got all mad and refused to--until she started gagging. Stinker.

She's still in therapy--group therapy now, one of four children, and she does really well. I'm always impressed by how well she participates and how unconcerned she is that I leave her there. WE're still waiting for the insurance to make up their minds about whether or not they'll bill the clinic with in-network pricing or not. If they don't then we'll be switching to the free therapy through the state. Please pray we're able to continue at the clinic.

She's getting very independent. She insists on at least trying to do things herself. She can peel her orange halfway on her own, she can put on her socks (Abby still can't do that!) and can almost zip her jacket (that either!). And she copies everything Abby says, which is sometimes cute and sometimes incredibly annoying. And she sings! On key! It's adorable.

ABBY:
Abby sings all the time, nowhere on key, but still extremely cute. She has a great imagination, and is constantly engaging in little games of pretend and talking to herself. Very cute. She doesn't dance as much as she used to, but she still does now and then. The rec center has a new kind of dance class, a creative movement class that is much more unstructured and focused on just having fun with dance. I'm going to enroll her in it soon and hopefully that will give her a more positive class experience than she had with the ballet class.

We've cut way back on the paci--it stays in bed about 90% of the time and she's learning to get through bouts of upsettedness without it, though she doesn't like to. But her teeth have already shifted where they were misplaced by the paci, so that's encouraging.

She still talks about missing California, and liking our house back there better than this one. We're joining two new playgroups, and I'm really praying we'll meet some kids in those that she enjoys (and whose moms I like). Chloe is still her favorite friend, and we try to see them every couple weeks. We met her and her family at the museum Wednesday night for a special members-only night and had a great time. It was the first time Dan had been there, and we ended up finding a whole new section that Christina and I had never gone into with the kids. We had a great time, and the girls were, as always, not happy about having to part company. If only they didn't leave 50 minutes away!

She asks questions all the time. When we're driving, she'll ask what every sign says, where every other car on the road is going, why we're turning here, why aren't we going that way. Sometimes it's fun--we get to explain all sorts of things. Sometimes it's annoying, like when it's the same question she's asked for the last ten car rides. I have to keep reminding myself that this age learns best with and is most comfortable with repetition.

Recently Dan, PJ, and I all had the stomach flu. Abby somehow managed to escape it, and my parents took her one afternoon to give us a break while we were feeling miserable. They took her out for lunch and kept her through dinner until bedtime, and she did *great*. Didn't ask for us once! I knew the day would come eventually. :) Now if we could just get PJ weaned, Dan and I might actually get some time to ourselves!

Abby's first haircut!

2010-02-04T20:40:00.001-08:00

Some of you have heard/read my complaints about how our stupid carpet sheds little fibers that end up in drifts all over the house, as well as settling into the bottom of Abby's curls. It usually takes me about 20 minutes to comb her hair out after a bath, because of all the fibers tangled in it--and that's AFTER spending a good five minutes pulling out whatever I can before she even gets in the tub. VERY frustrating for both of us. Well, either from my finger nails constantly scraping through her hair to get the fibers out, or because of the shampoo we use, or because she's never gotten her hair cut at all, the bottom bit of her hair in the back was just fried. So when I went in for a cut on my birthday, I lamented to my awesome stylist Alisha, and she said to bring her in and she'd trim the back for free!

So I took Abby in last week, and she sort of freaked out. But Alisha, being totally awesome, totally backed off and offered to take us on a tour of the spa. (The salon is part of an Aveda day spa in downtown Castle Rock.) We were the only people there at 9 in the morning, so she took us all over--through the locker room, through the nail salon where the girls played on the big massaging chairs, through the massage rooms, and then down to the salon to play on the twirly chairs. Abby loosened up a bit during the tour, and when we got back downstairs I really thought she'd go for it. But she didn't. So Alisha made a deal with her. She gave her two of the plastic claw clips they use to pin your hair up when it's long, and told her we could play salon at home until her next appointment, and when she came back she could trade in the clips for some nail polish. Brilliant.

So since then we've played salon, using our playsilks as capes and pinning each other's hair up with the clips and pretending to cut. (Though I actually did cut Abby's hair at one point just to show her it doesn't hurt, since she refused to believe me). And then today we gave it another shot. And it worked! Granted I bribed her with a trip to the coffeeshop for a muffin if she cooperated--I really need to stop doing that.

So when we got there Alisha surprised Abby with one of those washcloths that's all compressed into a little cube. She let us come into the back room where they mix hair color and stuff, and Abby got to sit on a stool and play in the big sink while the washcloth hydrated.

Then we went back to Alisha's station and Abby decided she wanted to stand, while holding my hand, and that I should be the one wearing the cape. So that's what we did! PJ sat on another chair and played with Abby's Nintendo DS the whole time. And when I went to take pictures, Abby was content to play with her new washcloth.

When we were done Alisha admitted she'd forgotten the nail polish, but I promised Abby we'd go down the street to Walgreen's and pick some up. (We did. Hot pink. With sparkles. I'll be sure to get a picture of her nails up soon.) So, knowing she was promised both nail polish and a muffin from the coffeeshop, Abby was calm despite Alisha's blunder.

(Note PJ with the comb--I think she wanted a cut too, actually.)

So when we were there last week Alisha recommended cutting off about 2 inches. When we went in today and she got a better look, she recommended more, given just how damaged it was. It was growing in a V--very long in the middle, and tapering up towards the sides. After promising me the curls wouldn't disappear if she cut off that much, she ended up cutting it even with the shortest pieces that were still in the back. If I'd been thinking I'd have gotten a "Before" picture so you had a good comparison, but I didn't--you know Abby and pictures, they're nearly impossible to get. But just look at how long it still is (and how curly still!) after about THREE inches were removed from the longest pieces:

So now she's got some quality shampoo that should last us quite a while, and I'm praying we'll be done with the carpet-covered curls now that the ends aren't so frazzled that they'll snag anything that floats by them in the air. I can't wait to see how it grows now that it's all even and healthy!

Go Get It, Girl!

2010-01-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

That's something you might hear if you were to eavesdrop on my girls playing. The problem is, we don't have a dog.

No, the girls have taken to a game, one you will most certainly be familiar with, whereby Abby tosses a little green fabric ball and yells, "Go get it, girl!" And by "girl" she means Penny. You would swear she has owned a dog by the sound and inflection of her voice. She evens leans down just a bit, her hands on her knees, grinning with wide expectant eyes at PJ. That's when PJ giggles, turns and runs after it. Yes, they are playing "fetch" and Penny is the puppy.

It might bother me more if it wasn't for the fact that PJ absolutely loves it. As if that wasn't enough, for some reason (remember, we don't have any dogs), Penny will take the retrieved ball, grip it in her teeth, and carry it back in her mouth before dropping it in Abby's open hands.

Part of me feels that I need to put a stop to it, but the other part can't stop laughing. Oh well. They're having fun. If PJ shows up one day with a collar and a leash, I'll step in.

- d

WOO HOO!

2010-01-29T22:06:00.000-08:00

Dan here. I am happy to say that Ali and I just sent in the finished manuscript for our second children's book, That's When I Talk To God. You wouldn't think that 1200-2000 words would be such a chore. But then when you begin to realize what you are attempting to do in only 1200-2000 words, it begins to make a little more sense.

When I came up with the idea for the first book, from the start I had it in mind that I wanted to speak just as clearly to the parents and grandparents reading the book as I was to the kids. My hope is that the children will want to hear the story again and again, and that both the children and the people reading it with them will be influenced and encouraged according to God's will. I think we hit the mark with That's Where God Is.

You will have to tell us what you think on August 1, 2010 -- in fact, feel free to head over to Amazon.com at that time and tell the world what you think. We would really appreciate it. For that matter, you can head over there right now and pre-order a copy, or nine. They will make great Christmas gifts and perfect additions to school and church libraries!

Enough of a sales pitch for ya? OK.

That's When I Talk To God is, at least for now, a little longer than the first book. We're still within our contractual bounds, but I won't be surprised if it gets trimmed down a bit. I might be a little disappointed though. The nature of this second book, which deals with prayer -- both talking to God and listening to Him -- is such that it was important to set each scene up very carefully in order to properly convey what we wanted to get across. Of course, that often meant an extra sentence or two (or five), here and there. We'll see how it all plays out. Hopefully we'll be all right though.

My point here is, while I have a tendency to make things much harder than they need to be, meaningfully sharing the omnipresence of God or faithfully describing the communicative relationship we can have with Him is not as easy as it sounds. I think we have succeeded in doing this. Again, can't wait to hear what you think.

I'll keep you posted and I'll be sure to let you know here when we go live with our children's stories website -- hopefully by the beginning of the summer.

Oh , PJ!

2010-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

This child is a born performer, I swear. Last night at dinner she spread her napkin out over her plate, tugged all the corners out so it was all nice and straight, then waved her hands above them and said, "Magic...magic...magic!" Then she whipped it off and said, "Ta-da!" and laughed her "I'm cracking myself up" cackle and did it again. Peas went flying every time she whipped the napkin off, but the show was worth it.

Another funny: she was holding a chip in one hand, but kept pointing to the chip bowl and grunting for another one. I finally said, "Penny, you already have a chip, see?" She looked at her hand, made this totally surprised face and said, "Oh! Haha, sorry!" We were dying.

Gross

2010-01-21T08:07:00.001-08:00

PJ got the stomach flu yesterday. :( She was fine in the morning; we went down to the Focus on the Family welcome center to play in the kid area with some friends that live down in Colorado Springs (where FOTF is located) and she did great. She melted down at the end of the morning, but I thought it was just because she was desperate for a nap; she was asleep before we got to the freeway, which is about 2 minutes from FOTF. She slept the whole way back (despite Abby screaming for half the ride that she DID NOT NEED A NAP, which of course was more than enough proof that she most definitely did) and slept for another 45 minutes or so before waking and seeming out of sorts. Over the next hour she developed a fever, and then suddenly....B.A.R.F. PJ, Mommy, and couch were all sprayed. NICE.

She spent most of the afternoon nursing and sleeping, and threw up two more times. I put her to bed at 8, spent some time with Abby (who had napped for three hours!) and put her to bed at 9, and then tried to work on the children's book with Dan, but gave up at 10:15 because PJ kept waking up.

It wasn't a great night, but given how it could have been, it was not that bad at all. She never threw up, thank heavens, but we were downstairs at 1 and at 4. At 1 we gave her Motrin; she felt pretty warm and I had a feeling it was the fever making her uncomfortable. Went back to bed around 2, came back down at 4, and then just slept on the couch with her until 7.

This morning, you'd never know she'd been so miserable yesterday (except for the whiff of vomit I keep catching when he walks near me--bath time today!), though she does still feel a little warm. But she's eating solids and nursing and playing with Abby and repeatedly making this silly face with her lip curled up to her nose and her nose scrunched up; not sure why. (Maybe *she* keeps getting a whiff, too!) Oh, and she's dancing. How bad can she be if she's dancing??

And Abby...yesterday she sounded like she was going to lose her voice, and this morning she has a bit of a cough. So who knows what's developing there; hopefully noting. Maybe that 3 hour nap (that she DID NOT NEED) helped her to knock most of it out. Fingers crossed!

Denver Zoo

2010-01-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

When I saw that the high today was supposed to be in the mid-50's, I woke Dan and asked if we could do a family trip to the Denver Zoo. We haven't been outside for any serious length of time in weeks, and I figured it would be a good day to go since it was the middle of the week and not a weekend. So we packed up the kids and headed out to what turned out to be an awesome zoo!!

We rented a wagon once we got there, which Abby rode in the entire time and PJ refused to get into except for a total of maybe 15 minutes. But that's alright--I'd rather carry PJ than Abby!

No, that is not the lion's lunch lying beside him, it's his wife. I assume.

There was a small little pond with a serious population control issue:

PJ really liked the kimodo dragon:

Abby's hand versus the kimodo dragon's claw:

THis tiger was HUGE. Dan was standing by this display and it was empty, then suddenly this guy came lumbering in. Whoa!

There were peacocks *everywhere*, just wandering around. PJ always pointed them out.

You can't tell in this picture, but PJ is waving to the crested cranes and saying, "Bye bye!"

There was a sign saying not to use your flash, so this picture of the lemur came out a little blurry. But it was cute because PJ was scratching the glass and saying, "Tickle, tickle, tickle"!

PJ parked herself in front of this small aquarium and I just love these two pictures I got of her.

This turtle was HUGE.

Run, PJ, before the giant catfish gets you!!

Gotta love the apes...

Abby getting mooned. Cheeky primate!

There was this long window in front of the ape's inside habitat, and the two apes in there mostly kept to the back and the other side. But then this guy just lumbered over and parked himself in front of PJ--just sat down, didn't play with the gourd toy thing in front of him, just sat there and stared. Then a couple minutes later he got up and left. Weird! Just glad he stuck around for a quick photo.

We had so much fun. I can't wait to go back! The girls did great, the zoo is easy to navigate (we liked it so much better than San Diego's) and it's just the right size. We have annual passes, so I'm going to keep an eye on the weather so we can take advantage of these occasional nice days in the middle of winter. It really helps the girls (and me!) to be able to get out in the sunshine now and then!

Therapy, Part 2

2010-01-11T21:39:00.001-08:00

So today we started back at the STAR Center for therapy. They recommended that we move PJ to group therapy--apparently kids in group therapy improve 25% faster, so I was like, "sign me up!" (Well, sign *her* up, but you know what I mean.) They had a group starting this month, and wanted her in it, but our insurance still hasn't come back with an answer as to whether or not they'll bill STAR in-network or not (we're not staying there if they do), so STAR called the other day and said we could come to therapy until insurance gives an answer, and if they don't agree to the in-network thing, then they just won't charge us for these sessions. How could I turn that down!? So today we started group therapy.

I was a little nervous. First off, our therapist, Heather, isn't running this group, so it would be two new therapists PJ had never met before. Also, the parents don't stay with the kids in group therapy. They take us to the room next door to teach us about working with our kids, which is cool, but I wasn't sure how PJ would take it. We're able to observe the kids through a two-way mirror, but obviously that wasn't going to help her at all.

But wow. PJ was AWESOME. She didn't even blink when I left the room--didn't look for me, didn't ask for me, nothing. I think it helped that they had bubbles already on the table--she knew just what to do with those and dove right in. And, as it turns out, the whole routine that they did was exactly the same as what Heather used to do, so it was all familiar to her. It was so much fun to watch her and see her participating, smiling, and EATING. She engaged with every food they gave her, even green pepper strips and dried peas! She didn't eat them all, but she didn't freak out at any of them, either. That's huge. AND, she chewed with her molars! Woohoo!!!

When they were done we went back to the kids, and I was fully expecting her to do the whole, "Where were you?!" meltdown, but she didn't. She just said, "Mama!" and put her head on my shoulder when I knelt down next to her. She didn't even beg me to get her out of her seat. I was so incredibly proud of her.

So, who knows if we'll be staying here or not. We have a therapist lined up through Developmental Pathways if insurance doesn't come through, and I'm a little concerned with some of the philosophical differences between me and the STAR Center, but even so I'd really like to stay there because PJ seems to really be responding to them. So hey--say a prayer that insurance will decide in our favor, will you? :) Thanks.

Fun with words

2010-01-11T21:35:00.000-08:00

Abby came up to me the other day and said, "Mommy, did you know there are a lot of mommies in this house?"

Me: "Really? Where are they and why aren't they piching in with the housework?"

Abby: "They're playing with Penny. They're *very* nice. One of the mommies, her name is Mommy. The 'nother of the mommies is named Pig. And the *'nother* mommy's name...is Booty Drops."

Me: *hysterical laughter*

That kid, she cracks me up sometimes.

You say it's your birthday....

2010-01-10T20:49:00.003-08:00

...let's celebrate with a total parenting fail!

Dan's birthday was fun, until we got to bedtime. Rewind to the beginning...

The girls and I got up at 7:45. We ran to King Soopers and got a cake mix and cards and donuts for breakfast, then went home and got the cake baked while Dan was still sleeping. After he was up and ready to go, I told him, "You know, the girls got up pretty late this morning. We could actually go out and do some stuff and not have to worry about nap time until later than usual. Heck, PJ will probably just snooze in the car at some point." So off we went for birthday adventures!

First stop: Red Robin for lunch. He got a complimentary hot fudge sundae, which he only had about 3 bites of. I had about 6 or 7 bites. Abby had...pretty much the rest. Not the entire thing, but a heck of a lot more than I thought she would have had, given she hadn't been hungry enough to eat all her mac and cheese, which almost never happens. (PJ, on the other hand, ate a ton of it. Go PJ!)

Second stop: the latest Super Target, which dwarfs pretty much any other Target we've ever been to. (Yes, we consider Target a 'destination'.) Did a little shopping, then back to the car--where Abby's Red Robin balloon sailed out the door of the van before anyone could grab it. The was much wailing and gnashing of little baby teeth. To soothe her, we went to...

Third stop: Baskin-Robbins. Dan had a coupon for a free small scoop, which he gave to Abby in exchange for the lost balloon. She had chocolate and ate nearly the whole thing.

Fourth stop: Home, where we frosted the cake, decorated it, put in the fun candles with the colored flames, and listened as Mommy sang "Happy Birthday" since Abby refused to help, even though she knows all the words. OF COURSE she wanted a slice of cake, and me, being an idiot, gave her some.

She didn't stop bouncing until I put her to bed at 9:30.

I have never seen this child move so much. At once point she was sitting on Dan's lap, and her whole upper body was swaying in circles. It finally dawned on us that, holy cow, the girl is totally hopped up on sugar! I've never seen such a clear reaction before.

And poor PJ finally fell asleep nursing at 4:15. Not wanting her to go to bed super-late, I woke her at 4:55, and she spent the next 45 minutes alternately nursing and weeping, "Bed! Bed!" Knowing she'd be up at 4 in the morning if I put her down too soon, I kept putting her off, until she got her second wind. Well, 6:30 rolled around and I thought, "Good enough, time for bed!" But of course, now she was wiiiiiide awake. I tried my hardest, but she alternately nursed and cried "Stop it!" until 7pm when Dan came up and relieved me for about 5 minutes before just bringing her down.

I finally took them upstairs at 9. They both konked quickly once I got them in bed (not that getting them in was easy; it was the kind of night that would typically make me skip the whole tooth-brushing struggle, but definitely NOT after all the crap Abby ate!), and that was 9:30. Neither of them actually looked tired when I took them up; I just prayed they'd zonk. Thank you, Lord!

So anyway...Happy Birthday to my hubby! Hopefully it was a good day for him despite the whacked-out kids. :) I love you, babe!!!

Children's Museum

2010-01-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

We bought passes to the Denver Children's Museum but hadn't used them yet. My dad is in full-on nose-to-the-grindstone mode on his book starting today, so my mom was looking for something to do. I've been nervous about going to this museum by myself with the girls, because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep track of them both, so knowing I had another pair of hands, I figured today would be a good time to try it.

SO FUN!!!!

This was the first exhibit we went to. They had a bunch of scrap stuff--wood, plsatic bottles, cardboard boxes, etc--and then all these little work stations with REAL tools and REAL screws and nails, and you could take whatever you wanted and make whatever you wanted. If your imagination needed a boost, they had project ideas on big laminated posters. This is Abby using a saw for the first time--or trying to, anyway. The progress you might be able to see on the wood is actually my doing. She had a bit of trouble, but it was also not the best saw in the world...

There's an exhibit sponsored by Whole Foods--a kid-sized grocery store, complete with check out stand, and a kitchen/restaurant. I'm missing all the pictures of the girls shopping, no idea why, but here's the checking out and cooking part:

From there we went to the anthill. There were really cute bug costumes for the kids to wear; Abby had an ant one on for about 3 adorable seconds before insisting on taking it off. Ths anthill had three tunnels underneath, and outside of it there was a "treehouse" and two nests. There were also giant cloth acorns and other foods I can't remember that the kids could store in the anthill.

From there we went to the art room. Paint, stamps, markers, crayons...they were in heaven!

From there we went to the dancing room. Wall-to-wall mirrors, continuous music, a rack of costumes and a basket of tap shoes. Video to come!

Next to that was a puppet theater...

Our last stop before lunch was a vet's office. Here, kitty, kitty....

We had a really great time and I can't wait to go back! And if *I* can't wait, then you can only imagine how excited the girls are to go again. :)

Birthday pictures

2009-12-31T13:57:00.001-08:00

Dan went to the grocery store for balloons and came back with a party!

Seriously, this girl got SO MANY PRESENTS this week. What a score!

What's really funny is that almost all her birthday presents were games. This one was from Greena and Par--The Ladybug Game! We played it that evening and it was really fun. (Though Mommy won, so it wasn't *quite* as fun as Abby hoped. Next time!)

Shocker--a picture where she's a) facing the camera, b) not trying to hide her face, and c) actually sort of smiling. (Unlike ALL the pictures I took while she opened her presents.) She definitely looks like a big kid!

That night we had some ice cream for dessert and put Abby's "4" candle in it. I love this shot of Penny Jane:

Abby admiring her candle:

Abby being sung to. Note to self: NEVER let waiters serenade her for her birthday--she'd probably hide under the table...

Blow out the candle!

Earlier in the day when we went to Baskin-Robbins we let PJ have a little sample-spoon sized bite of Abby's rainbow sherbet. It was a hit! I wasn't sure what she'd think of the cold, but apparently she wasn't phased. So when she saw the ice cream being dished out, she wanted some, too. It's funny how many "bad" foods I've let PJ have in the name of just trying to get her to eat *anything*--I don't think Abby had ice cream until this past January!

Fun day for sure!

Happy Birthday to Abby!

2009-12-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

Abby is 4. How on earth did that happen!? I have pictures, really I do, but they're on the internal memory of the camera and I can't figure out how to get them off. once I track down a cord with what is apparently the world's smallest USB I'll post them.

Dan brought her down this morning when she woke up around 7. She was excited by our kick-butt decorating in the kitchen (where are those photos when you need them?!) We opened presents and then had cinnamon rolls. It was a very gamey birthday--she got four of them! We played all of them at one time or another over the course of the day. I am especially fond of The Ladybug Game--thank you Green and Par! Hullabaloo is fun, too--gets you up and moving, and she can play it on her own, which is a good thing. At least, she can when PJ doesn't run off with the little pads you hop to and from. You can imagine how much PJ enjoys it when we all go chasing after her to get them back.

We went to lunch with my parents, and then to Toys R Us, where they let her pick something out. Or rather, two somethings: a teddy bear dressed like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and a My Little Pony doll house. The bear came into Baskin-Robbins with us for dessert and the ponies got a lot of play time when we got home.

I was nervous about how this birthday would go. I kept waiting for the birthday party question--as in, when is it and who is coming? I got it yesterday. "So what friends are coming to my party tomorrow, Mommy?" *insert breaking of my heart here* This is the only thing that I truly struggle with here in Colorado--the fact that AJ still has barely any friends. Well, only one friend, really, and unfortunately she was unable to get together last week like we'd hoped, though we'll see her and her mom and brother once they're back from their Christmas vacation. I explained what we'd do on her birthday, and that we'd get together with Chloe when she was back in town, and apparently that was all okay with Abby because she didn't say anything else. I just pray we know a few other girls well by next December so we can have a proper party, with hats and everything. (That was the one thing we didn't get, and the one thing she asked about this morning. "Where are the party hats??" Doh.)

All in all I think she had a really good day. Me, I'm just wandering in a daze wondering where my little baby went.

2009-12-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

May the true meaning of Christmas be in your hearts and minds today and all year long. Merry Christmas from the Morrows.

A performer to the core

2009-12-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

We've been saying for a while now that PJ is the performer. I think this illustrates it perfectly:

PJ was nursing and Abby was dancing. She struck her final pose and said, "I'm done!" (That's how I know I'm supposed to clap. It's not always obvious.) So I clapped and said, "Bravo! Encore!" Then suddenly Penny sits up, bows, and says, "Dank you! Dank you!"

Crazy Ballerinas

2009-11-29T16:27:00.001-08:00

More silliness

Hulahoopin Abby

2009-11-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

This is Abby's latest trick. She's been practicing--like, *really* practicing, actually working on getting better at it. Suddenly this past week everything clicked, and now she can do it forever. This is a longish video, and the first two times she doesn't last that long, but keep watching and see how long she goes on that third attempt. I think we need to call the Guinness Books...

The first of a few videos

2009-11-25T11:14:00.001-08:00

We have four or five videos to post but it is taking us longer than we hoped. Since I know a couple of you have been asking about them, I'll put one of them up now that is ready to go. These are not works of art and nothing especially exciting, but I know those of you who are not currently seeing the girls much will enjoy them.

And when Abby shows you how long her hair is, you need to know that if it were wet or you could pull those curls out, it would go well below her waste. It's sneaky long.

So, enjoy, and hopefully we will get a few more similar videos up soon.

dan

What they said

2009-11-22T20:56:00.000-08:00

The other morning Abby scribbled a picture in her notebook, ripped it out, and then handed to me as she said, "Take this to your leader."

*********

I was playing hide and seek with the girls, and it was Abby's turn to hide. Pj, being unclear on the hiding concept, usually just tags along with whomever is seeking, so I had her on the couch with me. I started counting, "One, two, three, four, five, six--"

PJ: "Six."

Me: "Right, six! Seven--"

PJ: "Eight."

Me (and Dan): *blinkblink* "That's right! Nine--"

PJ: "Ten!" (delivered with a gleam in her eye)

Such a smarty pants, that one.

hide-and-seek the Abby way

2009-11-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

A modern day Bedford Falls

2009-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the 74th Annual Starlighting here in Castle Rock. For those who are as math-impaired as I, that means the star was built and lit for the first time in 1936, as a boon to the struggling locals whose spirits were dragging from the Depression. It's a huge affair--they block off the streets downtown and have booths set up, the firehouse holds a chili dinner fundraiser, one of the churches sets up a live nativity, and there are horse-drawn carriage rides. It was absolutely packed--someone we talked to said this was the biggest turnout they'd had in a few years. I'm sure it helped that the night was beautiful--more like mid-October than almost-late-November.

At about 5PM they started the program in front of the courthouse. They started with the pledge and the National Anthem--who does that anymore?! It was wonderful! Then a local pastor prayed, and it wasn't some nebulous, PC-thing either, it was all about Jesus. Then, after a couple quick speeches and some carolers, someone read the Starlighting Poem, written by a Denver poet in 1966:

The Star of Castle Rock

by Helen Lowrie Marshall

Long years ago in Bethlehem
A star shone brilliant bright
Above the place where Christ was born
On that first Christmas night.

And Wisemen, following its gleam,
Came traveling from afar
To see the miracle that lay
Beneath that glorious star.

Tonight, we light our Christmas star
In memory of that birth,
Proclaiming to the world our wish
For peace, good will on earth.

A star whose radiant glow reveals
The close, encircling ties
That bind the hearts of all whose hands
Have placed it in the skies.

A beacon light whose beams reach out
To lift the hearts of men,
That they may sense the wonder
Of His coming once again.

That travelers by earth and sky
Who journey through the night
May feel the warmth and peace and cheer
Reflected in its light.

For now-as-then-the star proclaims
A miracle sublime
The miracle of love reborn
Each blessed Christmas-time.

And, as the Star of Bethlehem
Declared the Savior's birth-
May this-the Star of Castle Rock
Shine forth for Peace on Earth.

At 5:30 Santa came up to the stage to flip the switch, and we all counted down together and cheered like maniacs when the star began to shine. Then some more Christmas carols were sung as people began to shuffle on their way. We hight-tailed it out in the hopes of scoring a table at a restaurant on the other "non-historic" downtown area, but we weren't quite quick enough, so Chick-Fil-A was Plan B.

The girls did really well, given there wasn't a lot for them to do. We brought our big jogging stroller since we knew we'd have to hike from wherever we found parking--the festivities started at 1 but we didn't go down until 4:30--and Abby lasted in there for quite a while, though PJ had had enough after about 20 minutes. I'm looking forward to turning this into a Morrow family tradition in the years to come; it's such a great way to kick off the holiday season. Dan's even got Christmas music on downstairs.

This is the kind of experience I've always wanted: the small town style celebration of traditions that have spanned decades and hold a special place in the community's collective memory. I'm so happy to be living here.

Happy Harvest!

2009-11-13T12:40:00.001-08:00

We've never really decorated for autumn or Halloween or Thanksgiving, but with this giant mantel it seemed a shame not to try to spruce it up for the season. We've been hitting all the post-Halloween sales and picking up things here and there that are autumn-y and harvest-y (and not Halloween-y), and today Dan and Abby visited Michaels to complete the collection. They called me down from my office to reveal this:

Abby proudly told me she helped get off all the price tags. :)

So now we're officially decorated for the season! We've already found some Christmas things on sale, believe it or not, and since we used to decorate for that back in RSM we should have enough stuff to make the space look at least half-way decent come December. We're going to try to decorate it for all the seasons, since otherwise it's an awfully big, empty, BORING space. If you've got any ideas for what to put up there come spring and summer, let me know!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

2009-10-29T16:11:00.001-07:00

...but the view is so delightful! And since we've no place to go (good thing, too, since we don't have a snow blower), let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It started snowing Tuesday night. It hasn't stopped yet.

Yes--nearly 18 inches.

13 inches on the deck railing. How it stays up there so well without being blown off I don't know. And the wind is really blowing, at least now and then.

I LOVE the chair. It looks like it's holding a giant styrofoam cube.

Last night was interesting. Around 8:30 the power went out. Luckily I'm married to Dan, and within seconds he had a lantern and three kerosene lamps burning. I was trying to put PJ down at the time (Abby was already out) but she refused, so when we got downstairs Dan gave her one of those glow sticks you sometimes see kids using while trick-or-treating. She enjoyed running around with that until she finally zonked out and I put her to bed, at which point I started wondering just how cold the house would get without the heat running. We have two down comforters, and wouldn't you know they're both apparently still boxed up in the garage somewhere. *sigh* But snow is a bit insulating, as an igloo-building Eskimo will tell you, and it stayed surprisingly comfortable until the power was restored somewhere around 3am.

My other concern was the food in the fridge, of which there's not a lot at the moment, so I knew it would all warm up pretty quickly. So we shoved all the important stuff together and surrounded it with gallon-sized Ziploc bags filled with--what else?!--snow.

By way of comparison, here are some photos we took last night before filling the Ziploc bags:

Only 9 inches last night around 9:30PM.

I have no idea when it's supposed to stop, but I hope it's soon, if only so that we don't go completely out of our minds from being cooped up inside. We're the kind of family that goes *somewhere* every single day. Three days of the house...who knows what might happen!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-22T20:05:00.001-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch with our friends Christina and EJ Smith, and their kids Chloe and Colin. It was HOT, believe it or not, and we didn't stay all that long because the kids were all looking so flushed--and this was, like, 4 in the afternoon! We did end up buying Abby her first pumpkin, and a little one for PJ, and the girls had fun in the hay maze and checking out the animals. After we were done we went to the Smith's place for dinner and ended up staying until nine o'clock! We had a really great time, and the girls were zonked before we were halfway home. The perfect end to the evening. :)

Contrary to how it looks, Abby was not crying. Trying to get that child to smile for a picture these days is impossible.

The reluctant ballerina...in pictures

2009-10-22T20:00:00.001-07:00

Though she doesn't look reluctant, that's for sure!

The Reluctant Ballerina

2009-10-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

(Very cute pictures to come--just don't have the time before bed, sorry.)

Today was Abby's first ballet class. She has been so excited about starting, and when we got to the rec center she literally ran right out of her shoes on the way to the front door. The teacher is sweet, energetic without being too crazy, which is an important balance for Abby. The class had eight other girls, so it was a good size--not too overwhelming.

They started by learning how to "sit like a ballerina". While the teacher was going down the line of them, adjusting their legs and arms, Abby sat awaiting her turn with her legs splayed and let out a huge fart, then said all chipper-like, "Excuse me!" Much muffled laugher from the gallery of parents.

After they learned how to sit properly, they stood and went against the wall. Miss Marilyn had them go up on their tip-toes, and she used Abby as an example of how high they should go--those who know her well know that Abby has been walking on her toes nearly as long as she's been walking, so it was no surprise to me that she was used as the model. Unfortunately, this is when things began to fall apart.

Miss Marilyn had them walk on their tip-toes across the room. Totally not a challenge for Abby, yet she stayed against the wall as everyone else took off, looking like she didn't get the instructions. Eventually Miss Marilyn coaxed her into action, and they went across and then came back going backwards. When they got back to the first wall Miss Marilyn told them to do it again, and for some reason Abby came running over to me and just burst into tears.

We went out in the hall to talk. I asked if she was scared; she said yes. I talked about how nice Miss Marilyn was, and how encouraging and not-scary. I asked if she was confused about what to do; she said yes. We talked about watching the teacher and other students for clues, and how she could just say, "I'm confused, can you help me?" But she said she was too shy. My poor baby.

She calmed down and said she wanted to go back, so we went back in and they were lining back up on their "marks"-- little red tape spots on the floor. She went back to her spot and they began to do toe-pointing, and then a little move where they put their foot against their knee. After doing each of those a few times, the teacher had them alternate--point toe, foot to knee, point toe, foot to knee--with some music in the background. This was when things fell apart again. Abby got off pace with the teacher and the other students, and she burst yet again into tears. Back into the hall we went to talk some more about how this was just for fun, and it wasn't a big deal if she got off pace a little bit, and how everyone is just learning and sometimes it takes a while to get the hang of things.

There were only a few minutes left, and I promised her a treat when we got home if she finished the class. We went back in and I stayed with her in the corner. They did a little cheer of sorts with pom-poms, and she did most of it. Then Miss Marilyn paired them off--I was Abby's partner--to make "London Bridge is Falling Down" type bridges. Then she had one pair of students go under one of the bridges like a train, and then had the bridge students attach themselves to the back of the train. They all went under another bridge, and then those girls attached to the back, and on and on until they got to us. Abby refused to get on, but then we did it again with music and this time when it came to us I held on to Abby's shoulder so I'd be the caboose and attached her to the back of the other girls.

That was the last bit, and then Miss Marilyn handed out Hello Kitty stickers, which made Abby so happy you'd never know she'd been crying for half the class.

So...not the rosy experience I'd been hoping for, but at least the teacher is sweet and understanding. And I think a lot of it had to do with a number of factors unrelated to the class:

1. Yesterday was the dentist, and that was very new. Abby doesn't do new very often, and when she does, it's a big deal. Having two new experiences one right after the other may have been a bit too much for her.

2. She's in this nap transition where she needs a nap every 3 days or so. Tomorrow is nap day. But since she was up at 5:15 this morning, she really needed a nap today. But ballet is at 2:30, and she never would have been awake in time.

3. Abby has her mother's slow processing. In new situations it seems to take my brain, like, five times longer to decode information--and it ain't that fast in familiar situations, either. Having a line of parents armed with cell phones and video cameras staring at her, as well as a teacher (who is a large woman with a LOT of eye makeup and big hair), was most certainly stressful and distracting, and trying to follow along with new steps with all those eyes on her did not help the situation.

So, because of all those things, I'm actually encouraged. You may remember that the first day of swim class required major bribery to get her to participate at all. Well, by the end of the month she was dying to go to class and did everything she was asked. The swim teacher commented to me multiple times about how impressed she was with Abby's progress. And I think the same will happen here. We'll work this week on the little sitting pose, and the toe-pointing, and the foot-to-knee thing, and walking on tip-toes, and next week it'll all be old hat. I'll make sure she's had a nap the day before, and while I can't stop her from getting up early, I'll make sure she at least gets to bed at a decent hour the night before. We'll play some follow the leader so she gets some practice at picking up cues from what someone is doing, rather than what they're saying. And we'll talk a bunch about the class in case there are any other hidden anxieties that haven't come out yet.

I don't think there are, though. I think this is just our Abby. And that's okay.

Say "ahhh"

2009-10-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Abby had her first dental cleaning today. I have been pretty nervous about it, but WOW did she blow me away with her cooperation and composure. And I have to say, the hygeinist and the dentist were absolutely fantastic. This is the second pediatric dentist I've been to, and these folks blew the others out of the water.

I didn't know what Abby's reaction would be when I told her we were going, so I didn't say anything about it until last night. Then, after lunch, we played dentist for a bit so we could talk about what would happen. I put her in the recliner and poked her teeth a bit, "scraped" them with the end of her toothbrush, brushed her teeth while making that really annoying whining sound dentists' toothbrushes always make, and introduced her to floss. (Yes, shame on me, I've never flossed her teeth. But seeing as it's only been in the last few months that she's allowed me to brush her teeth regularly without serious meltdowns, flossing has always seemed as an absolute impossibility. Turns out she's pretty okay with it--then again, you could drive a Beetle through the gaps between her baby teeth.) Of course, I let her play dentist too. Ever let a three-year-old brush and floss your teeth? Interesting.

When we got to the office, I was thrilled to see we were the only patients there. The receptionist greeted Abby by name. The hygeinist commented on Abby's ballet shoes (purchased this morning for her first ballet class tomorrow, and she refused to take them off before we left) and told Abby about her daughter that takes ballet classes, too, which impressed Abby. She let Abby pick a new toothbrush first, then gave her a goody bag of toothpaste and floss. I sort of freaked when we went back to the room for the exam; they don't have chairs, they have beds, and I knew Abby would not be cool with lying down. But Jill (the hygeinist) told her she could lie down and watch the movie playing on the ceiling (Finding Nemo, which scares the pants of Abby, unfortunately) or just sit on the bed, and said I could sit there too. So what's what we did.

Jill let Abby touch every tool before putting it near her mouth, and also tapped each one on her hand and then cheek. She only had to scrape in a couple places, and said there were no cavities (thank you, God!!). The cleaning went quick and the tooth "brush" (which was actually a little rubber cup and not a brush at all) hardly made any noise, which is good since Abby is definitely sensitive to noise. When she was done Dr. Jon came and did his thing, and even though he used the same tools and did the same sorts of thing Jill had done, he still went through the routine of letting Abby touch each one first and then tap them on her hand. I was really impressed by that. He said her teeth looked great, minus the obvious splaying of her upper teeth on the right side where she cheats her paci when talking around it. He showed me the trophies they make for kids when they stop sucking their thumbs or give up pacis--they actually make an impression of them and put them on a little trophy with the kid's name on it!

We were in and out in half an hour and Abby was completely unfazed by the whole thing. I was so stunned and relieved I very nearly cried.

We started actively trying to phase out the paci a couple days ago by establishing 2 "paci zones" where she is allowed to use her paci whenever she wants to: her bed and the kitchen table. Neither one is uncomfortable, but neither one allows her to continue to interact with toys or TV or, in most cases, other people. There have been a few instances of, "But I want to watch TV, too!" and "Well, you need to decide which one you want to do more: watch TV or use your paci." With an exaggerated sigh, she'll usually slap it back on the table and stomp back to the sofa (or wherever) but once she did stay over in the kitchen, though she went and sat in the corner for some reason. My goal is to have her off of it during the day by the end of the year. She always loses it eventually during the night, so I don't mind if she continues to use it to go to sleep, since it won't stay in there long once she's out. After doing all the evaluation paperwork for PJ, I realized that I think Abby also has some sensory issues, though I think she's the opposite of PJ--rather than being and under-responder, Abby is an over-responder, and has some anxiety with it, too. Soothing habits like paci-sucking and sticking her hand down my shirt are going to take a LONG time to break completely, because a kid with those kinds of issues just needs them longer. And that's okay. She won't be 10 and still doing them, so who cares how long it takes.

Tomorrow we start ballet, and again I'm nervous. How is she going to be taking instruction from a stranger without me moving in to encourage her to follow directions or make her do whatever it is she needs to do? How will she react to me having to sit against the wall and not be right there with her? I think taking that parent-and-tot swim class first was an excellent move, because she got to see what it's like to have a teacher give instruction and then the students move without question to do whatever it is she's telling them to do. I'm going to take her over to the rec center early so she has a little time to check out the room before other people get there (hopefully), and I'll talk to her a bunch during the morning about what classes are like. I really hope she enjoys herself; she's been wanting to take a dance class for so long, I would really hate for her to have a bad first day and totally burst that bubble. I just hope I won't have to bribe her again with a muffin to get her to cooperate!

Out of the mouths of two cutie pies

2009-10-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Abby: "Hey Dan! Come get me out of my chair please!"

Dan: "Did you just call me Dan?"

Abby: "Yes."

Dan: "Why?"

Abby: "Because that's your name."

Well, duh. (She did this to Alison this morning, too, with the same justification.)

And, drumroll....

PJ just spoke her first sentence!

"Mommy, a cracker (or, more accurately, a 'cackuh') please!"

Therapy, Part 2--Food School

2009-10-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

PJ did awesome at therapy!

FIrst we started in the gym. Miss Heather, the speech therapist we'll be working with, said we'd start that way every week, and that she'd create a little obstacle course of sorts of PJ based on the activities in there she likes to do most. Looks like the trampoline, slide, swing, and crawl tunnel will be the main components--PJ had a blast on them all.

After that we went to the kitchen for "food school." Heather said their approach is very routine based, that we'd do the same sets of steps during food school every week to help PJ build trust in her and feel secure there. We started by blowing bubbles--another PJ fave--then played with some soap suds on the table. After cleaning the suds with wet washcloths (NOT a favorite) we set the table with plates and napkins and began the actual "work" of playing with food. :)

We started with food textures we already know she likes. Not the actual foods she's familiar with--no Cheerios or goldfish crackers--but potato straws and snap pea crisps and another similar food that I didn't get the name of--I think it had an apple-cinnamon flavor to it. We didn't just eat the food, though. Heather said that just putting the food in their mouth doesn't mean they're really processing what it is, but that by playing with it and interacting with it longer, it helps them to build a better relationship with the food. A lot of kids like PJ have very negative connotations of most foods, either because of the way they physically make them feel (like poor PJ choking on everything) or because of their strong sensory aversion to it (she said she's had kids completely freak out just by *seeing* applesauce--forget getting it anywhere near their mouths!). By getting them to play with "safe" foods, it helps segue into them playing with foods that worry them or stress them out. So we put the potato straws on our heads and "sneezed" them into metal bowls (you get a nice bell-like sound when they go in), squished the snap pea crisps with our fingers, ran the apple-cinnamon things up our arms like trains, and, of course, ate them. :) When we ate them, Heather and I did lots of exaggerated movements with out tongues to model for PJ what you're supposed to do. She doesn't get how to move food to her molars with her tongue, so we'd take a bite and then, with our mouths wide open, move it from our front teeth to our molars with big, slow tongue moves, and then do big, slow, up-and-down chewing.

After the crunchy, "meltable" foods (foods that dissolve in your mouth eventually), we moved on to American cheese slices and dried apricot. We stuck the cheese to our cheeks (well, Heather and I did, PJ just wanted to eat it) and pushed the apricot pieces around the table like boats. These are foods PJ isn't crazy about--I was really surprised to see her eat the cheese--but they're not terrible to her. After that was squishier stuff: pieces of peach from a fruit cup, which we called fishies, and a puddle of applesauce--their pond to "swim" in. Heather showed PJ how to "fish" with a potato straw "pole" by pushing them around with it. This gave PJ a safe way to interact with food she normally wouldn't touch. She was able to push the peaches around the applesauce without getting her fingers dirty, and eventually she even ate the applesauce-covered potato straw.

PJ did alright up until this point. But then Heather put a couple pieces of some puffy square cereal out--normally the kind of thing PJ would go for--and she got upset and stood up in the high chair. We weren't sure why. She'd been in a chair a much longer time than normal, and with her (supposedly) weak core that can get uncomfortable. Heather said it might have just been too many new things--sure it was the kind of texture and food she normally likes, but it was also the eighth food she'd seen in less than 45 minutes, and it might have just been too much. Either way, we took her out of the seat and let her sit on my lap for a few minutes.

I had a feeling we were over at that point--once she's out of a chair, it's hard to get her back in again. But then Heather brought out a lollypop, and despite never having seen one--much less eaten one--before, it enticed PJ back into the high chair. Heather also gave her a cup of juice, and PJ immediately dipped the lollypop into it and started to "paint" the juice on the table. In the end she didn't try either one, but the interaction was good!

From there we cleaned everything up, and then had a much-deserved nursing session. We discussed our next moves here at home--today I'm going to start easing into the new nursing routine--and about the therapy in general. Heather is really amazing--she even gave me her cell phone for "feeding emergencies." :) She was really impressed with PJ's attention and interaction, so I'm praying PJ keeps it up, though she did warn me it can be a very "two steps forward, one step back" process at times, and not to get discouraged if she does great one week and then is completely uncooperative the next. Given the age PJ is, there's bound to be some resistance rooted in her burgeoning independence, and what can you do besides just roll with it? But given our first session was so positive, I'm hoping PJ continues to form a positive opinion of the whole thing and gets more and more into it. Who knows, maybe we'll be done closer to the 6 month mark!

Therapy

2009-09-30T07:38:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about blogging this afternoon about PJ's therapy, when I realized I'd never blogged about what was putting her in therapy in the first place! Some of you may remember how slow PJ has been to start solids. We didn't try to introduce them until she was 11 months old because she has some food allergies, and studies have shown that waiting until they're closer to a year gives the gut time to close and makes preexisting allergies less severe, and can prohibit the forming of new allergies as well. Well, by 14 months she was STILL not at all interested in food. Paper, toys, fingers, pretty much anything else went straight into her mouth without any thought, but food? Not so much.

Once we moved out here, I contacted someone at the Early Childhood Intervention office to get some advice. They gave me the names of two feeding clinics in Denver, both of which had no openings until the fall. I made an appointment at the STAR (Sensory Therapies And Research) Center for September 16, and in the interim continued to encourage PJ to eat whatever she showed an interest in. By September, she was up to Cheerios, goldfish, crackers, mac and cheese, and bread--but that was it, and in extremely small amounts. You could give her an entire box of Cheerios, but she'd still only eat 4 or 5. Given the types of foods she *was* willing to try, I started to suspect a sensory issue. Soft foods, purees chewy foods (with the exception of mac and cheese, go figure), and things like that she refused to even try. But crunchy foods she seemed to love.

On September 16 I took PJ to the STAR center for a two hour evaluation. While there, she was observed by a psychologist, pediatrician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, nutritionist, and speech therapist. They watched her play, watched her walk, and most importantly, watched her eat. She charmed the pants off every one--no surprise!--and showed her true colors during the snack time, refusing to try the apple sauce or dried fruit but happly sampling all the crunchy items they offered.

After the eval, I took her home, put her down for a nap, had some lunch, then went back for the 2.5 hour debrief with Dr. Toomey, the psychologist and head of the STAR team. Their conclusions:

1. PJ has low normal muscle tone. She fakes her strength by locking her joints, which explains her loping walk, but which will ruin her joints in the long run if she's not taught NOT to do it. The low muscle tone extends to her mouth, where her tongue is both not strong enough to move properly and also simply doesn't know how to move properly to move food within the mouth, ball it up after chewing, and get it down her throat. Speaking of chewing...

2. She doesn't know how. She grinds her lower jaw forward and back, rather than in the rotary fashion that people normally use to eat. Another issue that muddies the waters is that...

3. PJ is an "under-responder" to certain kinds of sensory input. Her sight and hearing are just fine, however, she experiences with less intensity stimuli that engages her sense of taste, touch, and smell. While at the eval, Dr. Toomey passed a vile of very strong peppermint under PJ's nose, and she acted like it wasn't even there. She didn't seem to differentiate between a garlic chip or a tart apple-cinnamon one. This explains her frequent choking as well--she "loses" food in her mouth because she can't feel it as well, and when the food accidentally makes its way to the back of her throat, it's a total surprise.

(Another issue they suspect, which doesn't have any bearing on her eating, is renal tubular acidosis. Her height and weight both dropped off from the 85-99% to the 25-50%, between her 12 month and 18 month measurements. Insufficient caloric intake affects weight first, and then height, so if this drop had been because she was only nursing and not eating, then they wouldn't both be in the same percentage range anymore. Apparently this issue self-corrects in the majority of kids around age 3, and there is medication they can take until the body can do it itself--we've got an appointment with our new ped coming up and she'll take a blood test to determine if PJ has RTA or not. I have no idea what happens if it doesn't self-correct--I didn't think to ask, and I don't want to Google it for fear of what I might find.)

So, what does this all mean? According to the STAR team, about 6-10 months of weekly therapy to help her learn how to chew properly, as well as working on her core strength and willingness to try foods of certain textures. Our first steps have been to adjust her high chair so that her hips, knees, and ankles are all set at 90 degrees when she eats; her core strength is so poor that sitting in a high chair is difficult and uncomfortable, and her focus is taken from trying to eat because she's trying to just stay upright. The 90/90/90 should help her be more comfortable, so we've got a ghetto rig of boxes and phone books for her feet to rest on so everything bends properly. Another priority has been to get her attached to some kind of "lovie" so that she has something to go to as we start to cut down on breastfeeding. With all the nursing, she's rarely hungry enough to care about solids, and obviously that needs to change. We've managed to get her interested in a little doll she got for Christmas last year, though it's not something she turns to yet for comfort. They said it would take 2-3 weeks, though, and we're just now finishing week 1, so we've got some time.

We'll also be putting her on a more rigid feeding schedule, the outcome of which (i.e. no more nursing every five minutes) I'm greatly anticipating, but the implementation of which I am not at all looking forward to. A detailed mealtime routine which we'll follow at all meals and snacks will come next, as well as daily muscle-strengthening exercises. And of course the therapy.

I'm really interested to see what the therapy is like. There are some things that just don't make sense to me--like how she could have low muscle tone and a supposedly weak core, but still be able to fling her legs over her head when she's lying on her back, or how she can pick up things that are seriously heavy when you're her size. And what about this whole "under-responding" thing--is that something you can change, or is it just something she'll have to deal with for the rest of her life? The folks on the STAR team are really fantastic, and I know they'll be willing to sit and hash out all our questions and struggles and frustrations as we embark on this new experience.

So there you go--there's the big update. I'll write more this afternoon or evening to report on how the therapy went. Wish us luck!

Remembered it!

2009-09-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Abby's other silly mis-use of a phrase--file under "unclear on the concept":

Me: Time for a bath.

AJ: But I want to play with my sticker dolls!

Me: Well, bring them upstairs and you can play with them while I take my shower.

AJ: *big huff* That's not fair!

Quotable kids

2009-09-28T20:37:00.001-07:00

Abby has picked up some new phrases lately from, I suspect, her new obsession, Olivia. (It's a Noggin cartoon based on some books--kinda cute, actually.) The thing is, she doesn't completely understand how to use them. Case in point:

1. I asked her to hand me something PJ had dropped. She sighed, picked it up, handed it to me and said, "I quit."

2. We're walking through a parking lot the other day and she lets go of my hand and jogs around to my other side. "I want to hold this hand. It's fine by me, of course."

And I'm kicking myself because there was another one that I can't remember. Dangit.

We were watching Disney's "Earth" today--not nearly as good as we had hoped, and it terrified poor Abby--and when the elephants came on PJ said, "Cow!"

"No, elephant," I said.

"Cow."

"El-e-phant."

"Moo?"

"Elephant!"

"Cow."

When the monkeys came on she kept saying, "Mommy!" I was not about to let that one go. So I kept saying "monkey" and eventually she said, "Moh-key!" So now she has cow, monkey, doggie, and caaaat.

Now if we could just get 'elephant'...

Walkin' in September Wonderland

2009-09-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

Well this was a surprise...

Like our first snowman of the season?

The real shocker is that it was in the low 70's yesterday. And darn it, we were just at Target giggling over the snowsuits and talking about how we'll have to think about getting those for the girls "eventually." Who knew 'eventually' would be less than 24 hours later?

One thing is for sure: I'm having hot chocolate with my lunch!

Poetry in motion

2009-09-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Guess what iPhotobooth does besides taking silly pictures? It takes video! Who knew!? Not me. But once I found the feature I couldn't resist letting the girls play...

PJ loves her Blue's Clues, just like her sister.

The one drawback to Colorado

2009-09-20T19:08:00.001-07:00

FAIR WARNING: If you are squeamish about creepy crawly things, you probably shouldn't read the rest of this post. If you're cool with them, or your curiosity is going to get the better of you regardless of your fears, then scroll down to read the rest.

There aren't many things about Colorado that I don't like. I can only think of a handful: The way they hardly post any speed limit signs, so you go for miles wondering if you're speeding or if you're ticking off everyone behind you. The "no double turns" signs we see at some intersections in Denver and have yet to learn the meaning of. And then these little gems:

That's a wolf spider. It gave me the fright of my life when I went to put out the garbage the other day. Luckily our exterminating service had been to the house recently, and this is one of the spiders they spray for, so it was on its last legs when I found it. At first I thought it was dead because it wouldn't move even when I tossed things at it. I managed to sweep it out of the garage, where it stayed for quite a while, though when we went out with Dan later in the day it started to move again.

Once I was over my initial heart-slamming, hand-shaking shock, I was able to get pretty close and really examine it. If you click on the link, you'll see an illustration that shows the unique design on the upper half of its body. You can't tell in this picture, but it has that same "union jack" design on it. It was actually really cool to see. They're poisonous but not lethal, and so far we've only seen two others, and both of them were outside the garage, yay.

There's not much I'd change about our new home, but I have to admit this is one of them.

PAX of mind

2009-09-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Broomfield today to meet with some friends of ours (yay! friends for all four of us!) at the fun mall up there. The weather was overcast and cold, which was a bummer since the plan was to hang out and let the kids play at the outdoor park there. Luckily, there's an indoor park as well, and we had a great time--Abby even made her first Build-a-Bear! (Pictures to come.)

It took us about an hour to get up there, but it took us nearly twice as long to get back because we got a flat tire 2 minutes out from the mall. Thankfully we have the totally awesome PAX run-flat tires, which allow you to drive for up to 125 miles (only 50 mph though) so you can get to a tire place or home or whatever. We didn't feel comfortable getting on the freeway, so--three cheers for nav systems!--we programmed the route home using surface streets only. It was a long, long drive--and a rainy one, too, sometimes very much so, but it was a blessing since even in 55mph areas no one was going that fast--but it was an interesting drive as well. Minimizing freeways on the nav is a great way to see more of the state--talk about a roundabout route!

So we're home now, and who knows what the night's going ot be like. PJ didn't nap until we left the mall, and she slept for nearly 2 hours, so I'm guessing she'll be going to bed around, oh, midnight or so. *sigh* Abby slept for a lot of the drive, too, so she's also wide awake. Dan's found a couple places we can call tomorrow, provided they're even open, to see about getting the tires changed--we figured we might as well get winter tires so we're prepared.

What a day!

First Day of School!

2009-09-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

I hadn't been planning on starting to officially homeschool Abby for a few years. The methodology I plan to follow recommends holding off on academics until they're 6 or 7, and using the years before that to build a child's interest in and understanding of the natural world--lots of nature walks, spending time observing plants and bugs, exploring the geology of your area, etc. But we see a big bus come every morning and pick kids up right outside our house, and Noggin (the little kid Nickelodeon channel on cable) has been talking a lot lately about school, so naturally Abby's been asking. So I figured, why not?

We started the day with a first day of school picture on the front step, of course!

Once upon a time Abby would give a great smile for pictures. Now, not so much.

After that we went grocery shopping, then when we came home and PJ was down for her nap we got out the base ten kit Abby had been eyeing in my office for weeks.

They're wooden units (ones), rods (tens), flats (hundreds) and cubes (thousands) that help teach place value and number sense.

She loves these things. And there are a bunch of different ways to use them, so I keep changing it up so she doesn't get bored. She asks to "play" with them nearly every day now. We also started a number line--no picture of that yet, sorry--that will go up to 100. Right now we're in the 50's. For now it's just to help her learn to write numbers and count, but we're doing the odd numbers in green, the evens in red, then circling the numbers divisible by 5 in black and the numbers divisible by 10 in blue, so that eventually we can use it to learn how to skip count. ("Let's count by only saying the numbers circled in black! 5, 10, 15, 20...") I also have a gigantic post-it note pad, the kind you put on an easel for meetings, and have the Lord's Prayer, the first 2 verses of Genesis 1, and the first stanza of Psalm 23 written on them and posted on the wall of the loft. Abby likes to copy the words into her own notebooks, so we're killing a few birds with one stone there--scripture memory, spiritual development, and handwriting. :)

Then it was lunchtime, so Abby made egg salad with our Magic Bullet. (LOVE that thing!)

She really loves to cook with me now. She asks at every meal if she can help. We bought her a learning tower and it's been great--gets her up at just the right height, and no fear of falling off.

After lunch we worked on Gigi's birthday present (can't tell you what it was since certain relatives will be receiving the same thing for their birthdays or Christmas), but with that we learned patterns, sequence, following directions, and worked on fine motor control.

Her favorite thing to do for the last couple days has been to work on writing her letters. I bought some kindergarten paper--with the pink top line and blue base line and dotted middle line--and wrote the alphabet on a page in Sharpie, then put it in a page protector. She writes on it with a dry erase marker. She has definitely improved her neatness and pen control, just in the last few days!

We also tended to our first experiment with gardening--a "see the roots!" kit we bought from, of all places, Bass Pro Outlet Store. (I also got a totally awesome outfit for the fall there--their clothing rocks!)

Now, the instructions never said anything about transplanting them, so we didn't, but I'm convinced they're smothered in their test tube homes and that this is why we have not gotten any actual vegetables. The greenery is different for each, at least, so we get some good comparison practice there. And the roots are indeed cool to look at. But I was hoping to be able to actually eat them eventually. Oh well. We'll just consider it a baby step to next year's Square Foot Garden.

Tomorrow we'll have "gym class"--Abby's first ever swim class, actually. It's a mom-and-me type deal, and sadly she is not excited, but I'm hoping once we're there she'll get into it. She's also signed up for her first dance class, but that doesn't start until October. My plan is to do one class a month at the rec center. There are SO many to choose from, and so many things that I wouldn't be able to do--a music class, Spanish, dancing, dancing, and more dancing. :)

So there you have it! Abby is officially in preschool! :)

Stuck inside

2009-09-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

At the end of August our street was resurfaced, so we were stuck inside for a day because we didn't want to have to hike the kids up and down the hill to where we would have had to park. So we made the morning a little more interesting than usual to make up for not getting to go anywhere like we usually do.

We started with buckwheat pancakes. Abby got to help--she broke her first egg! (Broke is a good word for it, too, let me tell you.) Thanks to Eric Carle we had a whole narrative to go with the story. (Jack woke up, looked out the window and thought, "I'd like to have a big pancake for breakfast....")

Despite how the picture looks, PJ never actually tried any of the pancake. She did, however, try to spear it with the fork. Even though she basically still doesn't eat solid foods (we have an evaluation at the Star Center's Feeding and Swallowing Clinic on the 16th, yay), she's trying to use utensils nowadays--she even puts her Cheerios on a spoon once in a while!

After that it was bath time, with an extended play time for the girls.

After we were dressed we made paper bag puppets.

(Days like these are great for dressing in your favorite leotard, don't you think?)

After that was lunch and naptime and then I had to work on my scenes, so unfortunately it was all pretty much downhill from there. But, regardless, we had a good time!

Tiny Town

2009-09-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

A week ago (or was it two?) I took the girls to Tiny Town with a friend of mine from California. She has a daughter Abby's age, named Chloe, and the two of them have really hit it off. Eventually I'll have some more pictures--my camera died and my friend Christine got some really cute ones of the girls.

Tiny Town was originally a private residence back in the 30's. The family that lived there had one little girl, and there were no other houses, much less kids, in the "neighborhood." On the weekend the father would go into town and bring some kids out to their property to play with her so she wouldn't be lonely. But to keep her occupied during the week, he built her a playhouse that was was scaled down to kid size--1/6 of full size. Not sure who kept adding to them, or when the property became the little town that it is, but now it's a fun little destination with dozens of these 1/6 scale structures, some of which are sealed and some of which, as you'll see, the kids can go into.

Many are replicas of actual buildings; last month a new one was added and it was even on the news: A FedEx mail store. There's also a 1/6 scale train that you can ride on, and of course that's all Abby wanted to do the whole time we were there. She and Chloe rode with two other little kids in the caboose, and I was a little concerned that halfway through she might freak out and want to get off or something. But when it was over she begged for another ride, so I guess it went well!

Hanging out at the picture show:

'Hey kids, ya gotta pay yer dime just like everyone else if ya wanna catch the show..."

Run for the hills! It's the Penny Monster!

I love this picture:

Penny Jane chilling in church:

Penny Jane working on her breaking and entering skills:

I'll post the pictures from Christine as soon as I get them. She had some great ones that Chloe took of Abby in the caboose (she's as enamored with cameras as Abby is).

Conversations with Abby, continued

2009-08-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been so quiet here lately...I'm on uber-deadline and it's like pulling teeth for me to write anything besides the scenes I should be writing. But I should be done around Sept. 2, and then I'll be posting a TON! Until then...

The other day I was trying to get Abby clicked into her carseat. She was dawdling, playing around with something, and I said, "Abby, come on, I'm waiting."

She turned to me and said, in a tone that sounded oh-so-familiar, "And you're doing a great job waiting, Mommy."

This morning Abby was drawing and I showed her how to draw butterflies. She did a bunch, then made a long purple oval that was sort of flat on one side, and scribbled it all in. "What's that?" I asked.

"That's a raccoon."

"A raccoon? Really?"

"Yes. I loooooove raccoons. Because that's what butterflies come out of when they're born."

Bison Park

2009-08-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

I met a mom at Centennial Park the other day who told me there was an awesome park in The Meadows that had great stuff for little kids. The Meadows is a huge development on the west side of town--similar to Ladera Ranch, for those of you in Orange County--and we don't go there much because it takes about 10 minutes to get over there (or more, depending on where you're going) and the only thing they have that we don't is a movie theater, and you can guess just how often we go to movies.

So today I bought the girls to this park, and yes, that mom was right--it was awesome. Very new, and huge, with four large pieces of play equipment, a sand pit, a special section for ids 2-5 years old, and a lot of stuff that moved--like these wacky little items:

It didn't take much to get them going--PJ was flying; I had to slow hers down or it would go totally out of control.

This is actually a climbing structure--or, more accurately, a climbing bison.

PJ was happy because she cold actually get up onto everything--though there were still quite a few open areas that made me a little nervous. Granted, they're made for 2 year olds and she's still got 7 months to go.

Abby had a good time on both the little kid stuff and some of the big kid stuff--though the tube slide on the biggest of the big kid structures was scary fast. Poor girl came shooting out the bottom so quick she didn't have a chance to land on her feet.

The only downside to the park was the lack of shade--NONE of the equipment is covered in shade at all. There's a shaded picnic area, but who spends their time there!? Actually, there was one other negative--there were no benches at all next to the 2-5 year old section, and very few near the 5-12 section. Oh well. I'll bring a beach towel to sit on next time and park myself on the grass.

Milestones

2009-08-16T07:21:00.001-07:00

The past couple days have brought us to some remarkable milestones. The first occured on Friday when I took the girls to the rec center. We'd gotten our passes on Thursday and Abby had been looking forward to going swimming that day. Unfortunately the kids' pool is closed for maintenance until next weekend. "How about you go swim in the pool for mommies and daddies, and Penny and I can go to the toy room," she suggested. I about fell over from shock. The "toy room" is the daycare room we'd visited when we'd toured the facility the week before. Parents can drop off their kids there while they use the rec facility or take a class. We'd gone in and looked around at the toys and kids there that day, and Abby had seemed surprisingly amenable to going in there someday. I just hadn't expected her to suggest it herself!

So on Friday I took her up on her offer. We went over in the morning and the girls ran in as though it was their most favorite place to go. I signed them in, said goodbye, and off I went to swim.

This was the first real exercise I've done since Abby was about 4 months old and I was walking daily around the RSM lake. And I think the last time I went swimming PJ was about 4 months old, too. I had to rest for about 2 minutes after the first lap, I was so winded. I did that for a while--lap, rest, lap rest--and after about 10 minutes I was able to do two laps at once. I did laps for about half an hour, then water walked for 15 minutes before going in to recover and get dressed.

When I got back to the daycare room (I had to keep myself from running up there, I was so nervous that they'd both be basket cases when I got in) the girls didn't even notice I was there! No watching the door in anticipation, no looking forlornly through the window. I got them checked out and all their gear gathered up before Abby noticed I was there, and even then all she did was wave! My shy little girl who never wants to be left behind did just fine! In fact, she showed me all around the room once I went into the play area, pointing out the paintings on the wall and the fun toys she'd discovered.

PJ, however--my sociable little PJ--cried like I'd broken her heart. It took five minutes for her to calm down. The workers assured me she'd been fine the whole time, which I don't doubt at all. In fact, when I told them this had been the first time I'd ever left them somewhere without a parent or grandparent, they were stunned. "You'd never know it," they said. "They played the whole time and never even got fussy!"

Abby has been asking to go back. Hallelujah! PJ, on the other hand, I fear will freak out the next time we go in. We'll see. At least she has her sister there with her. I won't be doing it often--it's a little over $4 for child care every time I go--but maybe once every week or two. I'd like to swim 2-3 times a week, but Dan will watch the girls the rest of the time--much cheaper!

The other milestone occured yesterday. In short--Abby is potty training! On the advice of some of the moms on GentleChristianMothers.com, I just took her diaper off and let her run around naked. For the four hours she was like that she used the potty three times--all on her own, without any prompting from me--and never had an accident (well, save for a little "spill" that cleaned up no problem). We went out to Denver in the afternoon to explore, and when we got home I kept her in a diaper purely out of habit. But she's bottom-half nakey again this morning and has already run off to the potty once. TOTAL SHOCKER. I figure we'll just do this when we're home, and hopefully in a week or so she'll be able to recongize better when she needs to go when we're out and about, and I'll move her into pull-ups for those times. Dare I dream she'll be potty trained completely by the end of September?

Next step after that of course will be the dreaded paci. That, I don't even want to think about...

Six years!

2009-08-09T19:47:00.001-07:00

Today is our sixth anniversary! Crazy! Two cities, three homes, six contracted books and two kids later, we're here. Sweet.

My parents were in town until this morning, and last night they watched the girls so we could go out for dinner. It was BLISS. I can't remember the last time we did that, honestly. It was sorely needed and MUCH appreciated. We ate at White Chocolate Grill (parmesan-crusted filet = Y.U.M.) and then bummed around Best Buy since we didn't have time to do much else--drat that PJ who refuses to do anything but nurse for sustenance! My parents said they'd watch them every week if we wanted to institute a date night--I don't know if it's possible for us to pray any harder than we already are for their house to sell, but if it were, that offer would have done the trick.

Today we drove around and did random things--office furniture store (Dan still needs a desk), checked out the capuses for Colorado Christian Univerity and Denver Seminary, just for kicks, took a break at the Brunswick Zone and watched the bowlers and played in the arcade, then drove out to Parker to find two churches we're vaguely considering visiting. Pizza for dinner and both kids down relatively early--and now he's watching TV and I'm blogging. Ahh, marriage. :)

Douglas County Fair Parade

2009-08-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

This past week was the Douglas County Fair. The last county fair I went to was in Orange County, Abby's first year, I think. That fair lasts 2 or 3 weeks, is in full swing every day, and has a big-name (or close to it, anyway) musician every night.

Not so much here in Douglas County.

We went on Thursday and the carnival hadn't even started. There were no vendors. The fun food stuff (like, fried everything) was starting that night, but we were there in the afternoon so there was almost nothing to do. We got to tour the small animal exhibits and see the horticulture judging. (Well, we passed by it, anyway, on the way to look at all the stuff kids had entered in the....um...not sure what it is they enter stuff in. But, you know, quilts and cakes and tables they've built, that sort of thing. Really impressive, actually, some of the things these kids had done who were 8 or 10 or 14 years old. There was a quilt done by a 12 year old that could easily have gone for a hundred dollars, if not more. Simply beautiful.) The band on Saturday night--the Sha-Na-Na's. Fitting, since the theme of the fair was "Blast from the Past." But still not exactly super-exciting.

BUT--Saturday morning was the parade, and it was great! (And long--like, well over an hour.) It was Abby's first parade, and PJ's too, of course.

PJ was totally into it and waved to everyone.

The parade was 3/4 over before Abby started waving to folks. Up until then she spent most of her time freaking out that PJ was going to get lost--like, near tears every time I took my hands off her. Poor kid.

There were queens and princesses on horses--some of Abby's favorite things.

Local churches had floats, too--never seen that in a parade before! This church's band did a concert in the library's pavilion last month, too.

This is a local church plant that currently meets in a school and is going to build a community center instead of a traditional sanctuary and office building. That really impresses me. They handed out microwave popcorn packs instead of candy.

Of course there were marching bands--4 or 5 of them, including a middle school from Pueblo that was really good.
As Abby calls him, Old MacDonald!

Abby loved the woman's dress in the Civil war unit.

A whole mess of tractors, including this one from 1906.

No idea what this was for, but it was cute.

One of the local high schools has the saber-tooth tiger as its mascot. Abby was not fond of it.

Does anyon else think it weird that the US Census had a display? I love the quote on the front about it being safe.

I spent most of the parade trying to keep PJ from running out into the street. She wanted nothing more than to be in the thick of things.

We took about 15 pictures of Abby--this is the only one of her smiling. I don't know what it is about cameras that makes her so sullen.

The Morrow girls in their shady spot on the sidewalk. A great find, given the majority of the parade route was in the sun.

One of the few times we were all three looking at the same thing at the same time, instead of me running out after PJ or Abby hiding behind me or my mom because of the noise.

So overall--the fair was kind of a bust (well, if we'd gone over the weekend it probably would have been really cool, but it was definitely not what we were expecting), but the parade was awesome. Looking forward to next year when PJ can (hopefully) be trusted to stick with us and not go taking off after the floats.

Cowgirl in the making

2009-08-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

At the local cowboy store we found some cowboy boots that Abby simply had to try on.
There was another pair we liked more, but they weren't in her size. They were hot pink and had stars that lit up when you walked. We didn't buy any but we promised her we would once the weather turned and boots were more appropriate. She was disappointed, but cheered up pretty quickly once we bought her this horse:

A cowgirl ballerina. All she needs now is a tiara and a lasso.

A room with a view...

2009-08-04T20:37:00.001-07:00

From my office this evening--though most evenings it looks like this. Before bed Abby always runs to the window of the playroom, which has this same view, and says, "Let's look at the beautiful sunset!" She usually does it to stall, but I always go look with her, because dang, how could you not?!

Monument Park

2009-07-23T19:27:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday the girls and I went down to Monument Park in Colorado Springs. It's a great big city park with a little creek on one side and the railroad tracks and I-25 on the other, but in between there are parks and pools and who knows what else. We met some moms from GentleChristianMothers.com at one of the playgrounds. As we were coming up to the park on the path, Abby said with awe in her voice, "Mama, what is that spinning thing?!" I told her it was a little merry-go-round that you turned yourself. "Can I ride on it?" she asked, and I told her of course. Well, she ended up spending about 80% of our morning on it and loved it, as evidenced by this great picture--one of the few we have of her smiling!

PJ gave it a whirl (ha-ha) as well, but was not as enaored.

This is (NOT!) a test of the Emergency Broadcast System

2009-07-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

There are few things as startling and eery as the Emergency Broadcast System alert. Growing up in California, there was virtually nothing the system could alert us to before it was too late. Storms that would warrant an alert were few and very far between. The only real danger in our neck of the woods was earthquakes, and there's not much use warning people about those - before you know what's going on, the damage is done. EBS alerts were never anything more than tests. However, now we live in Colorado.

We've been here close to a month now and I bet we haven't had more than four days without incredible lightning storms and not many more than that without at least a little rain. There have been a few big storms here and there, but nothing too remarkable. Tonight was a different story.

The lightning was doing it's thing off north and east of us. Nothing unusual there. I was watching a little TV when all of a sudden the Emergency Broadcast System broke in. The familiar yet spooky tones, like some possessed old school modem, filled the room and I immediately focussed. Sure enough, severe thunder storms were raging all around Denver, complete with potential tornados.

The heart of it all seemed to be just north and west of the city and it was moving south-east at about 20-mph. I listened intently as potentially endangered cities were listed off one by one. Fort Collins, Boulder....ya ya...Golden, Morrison...closer...Denver....uh huh....Littleton and Englewood. Littleton and Englewood. That's about 20 minutes north of me. OK. The recording went on to say that the storm was heading southeast. Getting out my maps, weather Web sites and all that, it looked like the brunt of the storm would pass well north of us. Ali and I watched the distant show from the upstairs guestroom and then she headed to bed.

About 15 minutes later, the thunder crashed and lightning lit up the sky and the sound of the rain pounding the windows was deafening. I ran down to the basement to grab more power-failure supplies and when I got back up Alison met me at the top of the stairs. We headed back to the guestroom to wait it out.

We sat in awe of the power and majesty of nature, and in quiet fear of the unpredictability of it all. She talked about her experiences growing up in the Chicago area, where she had been through her share of tornado warnings and worse. We talked about what we could do to be more prepared and we both wondered if we could get the basement finished just enough to have a good, solid saferoom down there. The rain subsided and a sense of calm set in. Then that blasted Emergency Broadcast System alert started blaring again!

We ran out to the stair rail and listened intently to what was just a Colorado Rockies replay (We Won!). Now it was a tornado warning for ... Perry Park and Larkspur? Both of these towns are not north and east of us, but about 10 miles directly south of us! As far as I can tell, the tornado that the Denver Metro area was warned of and that was supposed to travel well north and east of us, was now directly below us, which means that the tornado-strength storm was most likely what we just watched - and felt - go over our house. That's a bit scary.

But, it was gone now. Ali headed to her office to check a few weather sites and I went to mine to catch up with my brother on the chat. Then Ali pasted me this quote which she got from wunderground.com:

At 1139 PM MDT... trained weather spotters reported a tornado. This
storm was located near Perry Park... or 30 miles north of Colorado Springs. This storm was moving southeast at 20 mph.

I wonder if it was really moving southeast this time. Springs better keep an eye out.

Ali headed to bed, again, and Andrew asked me if I had my weather radio dialed in. "What weather radio?" I asked. "Don't you have some mediocre one in your emergency kit?" he said.

"Oh, that one. Oh ya." So, just in the nick of time (LOL), I dug it out of a box and turned it on. Channel 3 came in clear and told me all sorts of things that would have been nice to hear about 30 minutes ago. Oh well. I guess there are much worse ways to be reminded of the need to keep your tools and supplies handy. I think I will sign off for now and start shopping around for another radio or two.

Don't forget the batteries.

Elizabeth Celtic Festival

2009-07-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth is a tiny tiny little town about 20 miles away from us. This weekend they had their annual Celtic Festival, which looked like a huge to-do on their website but turned out to be not that big a deal once we got there. But regardless, we had some fun!

They had a few athletic competitions, including rugby, haggis toss, and some kind of weight throwing (pictured above). There were a number of merchants selling kilts, jewelry, period costumes (some beautiful outfits!), and the like, as well as some random and decided un-Celtic goods like Arbonne and jewelry for your pets. :) Down another lane were the clan booths--we found ours, the Robertson clan, and they gave Abby and PJ little containers of bubbles, which of course made Abby's day.

The Children's Fairy Glen had a bunch of craft-y things for them to do, and Abby made a crown and a shield while Penny alternately climbed on the table and scribbled on the table with markers that she somehow managed to open herself.

There was a parade of clans led by a piping band...

...but the highlight, for Abby anyway, was seeing the Irish dancing.

It's so funny--Abby is usually so shy (though she is coming out of her shell a little more these days), and hates having attention drawn to herself, and yet with every new performer that took the stage she asked us if she could go dance with them. She wanted to get up there and dance so badly! And at one point she asked when she could learn how to dance like that. I really hope I hear back from the Irish Dancing School guy soon about classes that supposedly start in August; I need to get this girl enrolled!

Conversations with Abby

2009-07-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Setting: Driving around downtown Denver, before picking up Alison from her author's convention. Tall buildings, shops and apartments surround us.

Abby: There sure are a lot of schools around here.

Daddy: Schools? Where?

Abby: All over. Everywhere.

Daddy: These aren't schools, honey. They're shops and businesses and apartments.

Abby: No, they're schools.

Daddy: No, they're not, dear.

Abby: Yes, they are.

(about 5 minutes of silence)

Abby: Daddy, when I say things are schools, you better listen.

Daddy: Yes dear.

Update on the girls

2009-07-12T19:57:00.001-07:00

Dan and I were just talking about how much the girls are growing, and it made me think I ought to post a quick note about how each of them are doing.

Abigail
Three-and-a-half is a tough age. There's a lot of whining. A lot of complaining. (Her new favorite phrase--"Why is this taking so long?") A lot of stubbornness. But with it comes a mind-boggling capacity for imaginative play, ever-growing independence, and glimpses of a grown girl living life with the quirks and habits she inherited from her parents.

I try not to use the phrase "big girl" with her, because, though she is getting big, an compared to PJ she *is* big, the truth is that she's still only three! I don't want to put any pressure on her, make her hate being a "big girl" because apparently that means she can't do certain things anymore because "big girls don't do that." So tonight I told her she was my big girl who is still my baby. She laughed and said, "Mommy, I'm not a baby. I'm a kid!" And I had to laugh because yes, she really *is* a kid now. She can buckle herself into her carseat and dress herself almost entirely. She rides her bike and her scooter like it's her job. And her face...there are times I'll catch her looking like a child model--slight pout, intense stare. She's got the most amazing eyes.

She's starting to come out of her shell, too! She's talking to kids when she meets them at the park, telling them her name, asking theirs, and actually having conversations with them. She'll even talk to adults now and then, though she usually ducks behind me and murmurs, "I'm shy" after blurting something out to them.

I'm trying to get her into the Irish step dancing classes in town, but they still haven't returned my email. :P Looks like I may have to actually *gasp* use the phone.

Still no closer to losing the paci or the diapers, though. I'm trying not to get frustrated about that. We're trying to limit the paci, but she sure puts up a fight for it when she insists it's necessary and we don't agree!

Penelope Jane

The changes are coming fast and furious with PJ...

New Words:
wa-wa = water

hiiieee = "give me your hand so you can help me with this"

bow-bow = Blue's Clues

ohhhh-pikuh! = hokey pokey :)

New Skills:
kissing = she'll just come up to you with her little head thrust forward and her lips pressed together and lay one on you. It's so cute.

climbing = okay, not an entirely new skill, but she does it so much--like, ALL THE TIME--that it's worth mentioning. And she's getting scary-good at it. *And* has no fear. Not a good combination.

dancing = oh so cute. Little fists waving, bobbing up and down, big ol' grin on her face. She usually does it during Blue's Clues, when Steve sings one of the songs.

New Signs:
finger pointing in the air = "pick me up"

She's still not swallowing food or taking bottles/sippy cups of anything but water, which sucks. I'm making an appointment this week to have her evaluated to see what's going on and what we can do about it. I'm starting to get just a teensy bit panicked because I'll be gone for four days (home at night, though) in mid-September, and seeing as she nurses every 3 minutes these days, that could end up being hugely disastrous. If you think of it, please say a prayer that whatever the evaluation uncovers is quickly remedied. She's more and more interested in trying to eat these days, so I'm thinking once she has the swallowing thing down she'll really take off.

A Few Young Bucks

2009-07-11T23:43:00.001-07:00

Came home this evening to find three bucks grazing and playing in the field behind our house. This family of deer makes their way down to our fence regularly and can be seen early in the morning or around dusk. They are beautiful creatures and watching them never gets old.

Watching my film, on the other hand, might get old quick. I'm still learning how to use this thing and keeping this "inexpensive" camera steady is always a chore. That said, I'm starting to enjoy taking these little videos and I'm thinking about getting a proper tripod that I can comfortably swivel the camera on. Who knows. One day I might even splurge for a device with image stabilization.

I hope you enjoy not only the deer, but my first crack at iMovie on the Mac (or any video editing, for that matter). I added a some "DAN" at the end - including my own version of, "Sit Ubu, Sit. Good Dog." Be sure to have the volume turned up at the very end and remember that you can scroll back through the footage if the credits roll a bit too fast to read.

Cheers!