Off to Minnesota

We are in Minnesota again this weekend for a retreat at Lake Geneva Christian Camp in Alexandria. I am playing a saxophone concert for the retreat, and then we are spending the weekend up there relaxing and spending time with some old friends.

It should be a nice relaxing time away after a rather hectic week.

Hopefully, my lips will hold up to 45 minutes of playing the saxophone.

Oh...by the way, we found out the sex of our baby. All I can say for now is that we are having either a boy or a girl.

As I See It...Prayer and Spiderman

As you know, three-year-olds can say some funny things. We are constantly amazed at how Ally processes things in her mind. So, I thought that we should start the "As I See It" posts to document Allyson's perceptions about everyday topics. Hopefully, this will be the first in a series of posts....

1. This morning, we went to the donut shop before Kristen's pre-natal appointment and when I asked Allyson to pray for our food, she said, "We don't need to pray for this because it's not hot."
   
   
2. Yesterday, I asked her if she wanted some Spiderman fruit snacks, and she refused saying, "I'm not a boy, so I can't eat Spiderman fruit snacks."
   
   

The Rain Has Ceased.....For Now

We are thoroughly enjoying a rain-free day today! We got donuts this morning and relaxed until lunchtime.

This afternoon, the sun is shining and the temperature is beautiful. I took advantage of the respite from the rain and mowed our overgrown and highly saturated lawn. Spent a large part of the afternoon on the deck reading.

Most of you know that I just began my computer programming classes at our local Technical College. I am learning HTML, Java, SQL, and Visual Basic among other things this fall. I am excited to be learning something completely new, but I am nervous about being able to keep up with schoolwork, family, and church commitments. I guess I will become a master of time management!

We are heading out to an Anniversary Party for an older couple in the church later today. Although we are not excited about it, Allyson heard the word "party" and cannot stop talking about it! I hope she isn't disappointed when we get there! :)

Have a great weekend!

A reminder from my own childhood...

So here I am! ("Finally," David says.) Yes, he's been bugging me for weeks to take my turn on the Fox blog. I sit here on a rainy afternoon, with the sounds of deep breathing in the monitor (that's the best sound ever), and the smell of freshly baked lemon bars. Yep, it's been that kind of day - you want to pat me on the back?

I wanted to relay a little story that I know my mom will appreciate. This morning Ally and I ran a few errands...to the church and the bank before Ally even voiced this all-important question, "How many places are we going today?" You see, she has learned something about her mom. I love running. Not the actual kind of running(no way), but the running errands kind. I love wandering through Kohl's, even if I have $2.49 in my wallet and no particular clothing or houseware need. However, errand running has changed since parenthood. And now, I'm faced with the question, "How many stores today, mom?" I can't lie, this kid is too quick for that, but today my answer is a good one, so I'm not too worried. I smile and say, "Two stores today, honey." Her face literally lights up and she says, "I LOVE two stores!" Somewhat surprised, I say, "You love it?" She says, "Yeah, it's so much better than 5 stores." I told you, she's quick!

My mom will vouch for this, I often asked her the same question, but it didn't occur until I was much older and could choose to stay home or go with her on the errands. My answer to her was completely dependent on her answer to the same question Ally asked me today, "How many stores?" I remember my mom giving a vague answer (probably an underestimated number), to encourage me to join her. Once in the car, I was stuck and she could stretch the trip by saying, "That store is in the same parking lot, so it doesn't count." Although irritated at the time, I'm older and wiser now. Ally doesn't have the choice now, she has to come along, but mom was just trying to be supermom, getting all the errands done AND spending quality time with her girl. Maybe that's why I like running around today...

K

Anklets and New Shoes/Crocs

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma V. for the new croc style shoes for Allyson. She loves them.

Allyson is still quite attached to her jewelry. However,she has been getting more creative with its placement. As you will see in the pictures below, she is wearing anklets and......elbow bracelets????

Allyson's friend Jordan came over for a playdate this morning. Ally was hyped up about it the minute she woke up this morning. It sounds like they got along well and had a ton of fun together playing at the park and here at the house.

Thanks for the comments you all left. It is nice to know that you all are using the site. We will try to record some video to post in the next week. We don't want you to get bored with just pictures!

Leave us a Comment

Hi there family! We have put this site up for you grandparents, friends, and family. Leave us a comment once and a while. It would be fun to get some interaction going on here. It is simple to do. Just click on the "Comment" button at the bottom of the post and drop us a note.

It will only take a second, and it will let us know that you have been here.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Since we have arrived home from our Minnesota trip, we have been trying to discourage Allyson from thumbsucking. She has been so good about resisting the urge to suck her thumb. However, sometimes life gets to be a little too much, and in those moments, she calls out, "Mom, I think I need to suck my thumb." Even in those moments, she can usually be encouraged to be a big girl, and the need for the thumb subsides.

She has developed a substitutionary method in which she pats "Monkey's" tail on her cheek instead of sucking her thumb. It is quite humorous to watch.

After having a particularly frustrating bout of whiny behavior yesterday morning, Kristen and I came to the conclusion that this poor behavior is her way of dealing with the frustration of not being able to suck her thumb. She is having withdrawal symptoms!!!!

Yesterday, in Wal-Mart, she finally lost and said she REALLY needed to suck her thumb. She had been behaving so badly that we told her to go ahead. It was amazing, all of a sudden she was a happier girl!

Please keep her in your prayers as she tries to break this habit. :) She is so good about trying. Also, pray for our patience as parents in helping her get through this time.

Below is a picture taken following the Wal-Mart trip. As you can see, she is quite "stylish."

Have a great day!

An Interesting Article...

Baby Einstein DVDs Don't Work

A research team at the University of Washington has determined that babies watching television for an hour a day learned less vocabulary than babies...

I stumbled upon this research this morning. I found it quite interesting. Take a minute to check it out.

The Great Bed Transition

Well, we finally did it this weekend.

We decided that Allyson is probably the oldest child in the country still sleeping in a crib! What can we say....we loved the ability to have her "contained" in the safety of the crib at night. No running around after bedtime...no sneaking downstairs...etc.

With some elbow grease and some sweat, we moved the crib out of her room and into the guest room. I know, that doesn't sound too difficult except for the fact that the crib has to be disassembled to get it through the doorway! It is a pain in the neck.

To make a long story short, Allyson is now officially a big kid who sleeps in a real bed. We heard a bang in the middle of the night on Friday. She had fallen out of the bed. Apparently it didn't bother her too bad, because when we asked her about it in the morning, she said that that was just a dream! Thankfully, she hasn't fallen again, and she is staying in her room after bedtime and during her naps.

I'll post a picture of her room at the bottom of this post in a day or two.

Photos from our Minnesota Trip

Here are a few select photos from our trip this past week. I have posted a link to the photo album at the bottom of this post.







Click on the image below to view the entire photo album from this trip:

Trip to Minnesota August 2007

We're Home In Wisconsin

We spent the bulk of today driving South through Wisconsin from Duluth. It was a beautiful day and traffic was minimal.

Our trip was full of activity and went by quickly. Allyson loved playing with her cousin Elyse. The two of them together was definitely an energetic sight to behold.

The wedding went well and we enjoyed our time in Duluth.

We are unpacked and ready for our own bed tonight. Allyson crashed quickly after laying down in her bed. She is currently snoring away!

In Minnesota

We are in Minnesota for the next few days. We had a nice dinner with a friend in South Minneapolis before going up to Kristen's parents' house.

Fortunately, we did not take 35W to get here. It was quite disturbing to learn of the bridge collapse. What a mess. We were in the car when we learned of the collapse.

We were close to Kristen's parents' home when we encountered a large amount of water on the road ahead of us. A car in front of us hit the "puddle", hydroplaned, and slammed into another van right in front of us. I don't think I ever pumped the brakes that fast in my life! Thank God for keeping His hand on us last night. We were able to stop and avoid a head-on collision with the car in front of us.

We will post some photos from our trip later in the weekend.