Copy Cat

We sure love this little copy cat.  It scares me a little how much she watches and copies.  She pronounces the word "no" with such clarity and feeling that I just don't know what to do about it. 

Here she is copying E with a Pooh Bear.  But E would say this is not the Pooh Bear with the "right nose".

She adores shoes.  Notice that both of her feet are already shod, and she's holding up another boot for me to put on.  I think they go perfectly with her jammies.

 The only thing about shoes is that it covers up these beauties.  She sat really still on my lap for the first time so I could paint them.  Before this, I had to do it while she was in the highchair so she couldn't see or touch what I was doing.

Here she is copying me with my dangly earrings.  She was playing with mine after church, so I thought she would really love if she had "earrings" of her own.  She did love it and had this little pleased look on her face as she walked carefully around so as not to lose her big-girl dangly earring.

Pretty big stuff.

Scavenger Hunt

 With Ben's crazy Emergency Medicine schedule, he's been home and at work at odd times of the day.  Last week he was home until 2:30 p.m. on some of the days and then some days he was here until 10:00 p.m. and then some of the days he was gone at 7:00 a.m.  It's hard to maintain a regular schedule with the kids with his work schedule, and even though it sort of drives me crazy, I decided to just throw my expectations out the window and just go with it.  I didn't have a choice.  And yes, I felt like the house really needed to be cleaned, but I just had to wait until Friday night when Ben was out of town for the weekend on a pre-interview trip in Indiana.  There's nothing like vacuuming and scrubbing toilets until 11:00 p.m. on a Friday night.  Bet you're jealous of my party-house.  But man, it sure is nice to wake up on Saturday to a clean house.

On a side note, does anyone else think it really stinks to cook just for yourself?  I feel like I've had meals planned for the week that I just haven't made because, let's be honest, I'm not going to grill an entire flank steak for myself.  So I've exhausted all Tier 1 cop-out meals which include: grilled cheese, canned soup, cereal, pancakes, toast and scrambled eggs.  Am I missing any?  I didn't include Kraft Mac n' cheese because we had that for lunch one day.  Tier 2 cop-outs would include spaghetti, grilled cheese WITH soup, and a full breakfast...possibly with something mixed in to the pancakes.  Any more ideas or suggestions?

Anyway, on one of our crazy no-schedule days, we dropped the little man off at preschool and took Girl with us to the tractor supply store because we're in the midst of creating a John Deere tractor costume for Halloween, per E's declaration.  Ben just couldn't not buy this cute little truck and horse trailer for the little man, and couldn't wait for him to come home from preschool.  To make things more exciting, we created a little scavenger hunt for him.  Ben drew pictures of places in our house E would recognize and he hid probably 8 of them to lead E to the ultimate surprise.

Pardon the boxes...as I said, we're in the midst of tractor construction here.  This little moment melted my heart.  It was also in quite a drippy state when I could hear them driving around the little truck and tractor together coming up with little play scenarios.  I'm glad they are buddies.

28 Is Pretty Much 30

While my mom was here, Ben had his 28th birthday!  It was so weird/refreshing to have a family babysitter and to not have to bug someone from the ward.  (Thanks Mom!)

I'm not sure how exciting of a birthday it was for Ben, because the majority of it was practical stuff.

 Like his favorite Disney movie as a child, "The Great Mouse Detective".  Now I could answer anything about it while playing Disney Trivial Pursuit.

 ...Also a new drawstring for his pajama pants.  Our sucky old dryer somehow caught the drawstring and broke it off, so one night there was a very panicked Ben when he was trying to cinch up his pajama pants and the string was suddenly very short.  It was missing a good 6 inches, but Ben was convinced he had just gained weight.  Poor guy.  We didn't discover what really happened until about 2 weeks later when I finally found the old drawstring pieces tangled up at the top of the door opening.  He was pretty relieved.

And probably the most important thing was a wedding ring.  Yeah, after 2 kids and 6 years together we finally decided to tie the knot.  No, this was actually a REPLACEMENT wedding ring because Ben lost his...probably at his mistress's house or something...(or the hospital).  Even though it stunk to spend the money for a new one, I decided it was a good investment because I don't want any of the nurses thinking he's available.  Not that he would encourage that kind of behavior, but that doesn't stop the creepy lady in our neighborhood.  But that is a story for another time.  Anywho, I'm glad he is a marked man again because I've invested too much into this medical career of his to get him snatched away. :)  I sure think he's cute, so why wouldn't someone else?

Those kids of ours sure love him.  Do you like that Sammi is on his lap in almost every picture with him?  She really doesn't leave his side once he walks through the door.

That girl is determined to have some of that chocolate cake.  She knows what's good.

Happy birthday my sweet Ben!

Grrrrrrandma!

 The title is supposed to be said in a wailing Emerson voice.  That's what's been happening anyway for the last week since my mom left after visiting us for a week.  This is the first time that he's gotten really really sad when someone has left us after visiting.  We've had a lot a visitors and it seems like we're always visiting Utah, but he's just catching onto the fact that grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles can't just pop in to say hello all the time when we're living in Ohio and they are in Utah.  So even though I wasn't the one who started all the crying when it was time to say goodbye, I was crying when E had to say goodbye because he was sadly clutching Pooh Bear while begging Grandma to stay.  And now every time I tell him "no" or talk in a stern voice, he'll start bawling and say "Grandma!  I want Grandma to come back and play trains with me."  The funny thing is, it's not like my mom undermines my disciplining efforts or anything, so why he thinks she's a big softie is beyond me (and her!).

We had a great time while she was here even though it rained anytime we tried to go out to do something.  It was still fun though.

 Sammi with her polar bear friend.  She actually cared about the animals while E just kept asking about the train.

 ...Illustrated perfectly here.

 Luckily it stopped raining long enough for the train to start running again and THAT crisis was averted.  Phew!

 Documentation that I am a bad mother and let my kids watch TV.

We went apple picking in the pouring rain even though you can't tell in the pictures.  We were dang quick, and at least it wasn't crowded.

Isn't Grandma cute in her little hoodie?

Here's the woman of the week...or month in Emerson's mind.

Thanks for coming, Grandma!  Thanks for the hours of train play, book reading, snuggles, and yummy food!  You are sincerely missed by all, but most vocally by E.

P.S. Can I just point out how appropriate Sammi's animal print leggings are for the zoo?  They are.

First Day of Preschool

E started preschool.  Holy crap.  All of a sudden I feel like he is so big and that I am so old.  I had very mixed feelings about this, because I was sad he wouldn't be home with me all the time now but on the other hand I knew he would love it. 

The little guy woke up and couldn't wait to get dressed so he could go to school.  He was a little disappointed that he had to wait until after lunch to go.  But when it was time he was very cooperative about getting his school shoes on and going potty.  (Something that can be a battle sometimes...)

Here is his first of many traditional pictures in years to come of the first day of school. :)

 Sammi wanted in on the action.

  So big with an even bigger backpack.

 Smiling so big and so genuinely. (Not.)

This was him right outside his classroom.  There was a big line of kids and parents waiting to get their nametags, and he was so antsy to just go in there and get started because there were TOYS.  He was hoping there would be toys.

And all was right in the world when his BFF Tucker walked in.  What a great thing to have your best friend in your class.

The little buddies.

E's teacher asked him to pick out his nametag from the two left on the table and he very confidently pointed to the wrong one. It was awesome.

It came time to leave him and he wasn't bothered at all that I was leaving.  I was glad about that, but I couldn't help but get a little teary when I hugged him goodbye.  Yes, I'm one of THOSE moms.  I couldn't wait to go pick him up again in 2 1/2 hours and I wished I could be a fly on the wall! 

When we went back to get E, I couldn't spot his little navy blue shirt anywhere and finally my mom pointed him out to me (she's here visiting us!) and he was wearing his white undershirt while sitting alone at his little table kind of spacing off and looking a little solemn.  His teacher came over and explained that he had a little mishap.  The poor guy had been standing on a stool going to the bathroom when the stool slipped out from under him and he caught himself with his hands and totally fell into the urinal.  He started bawling because his hands and arms were soaked but he settled down once they got his shirt off and washed his hands.  The story is so funny and makes me laugh but makes me feel so bad for him too!  What a horrible first day.  He didn't seem too fazed by it though because he was excited to go back the next time.  So no permanent damage done.  (He told me after his second day that he sat down to go wet...so no falling in the big scary urinal again for him!)  I think the solemnity when picking him up was more due to the fact that he was tired and that afternoon preschool interferes with his nap.  But at least it's only 2 days a week.

My mom warned me that I would hear about preschool not all at once, but in little random snippets that would just come spilling out here and there and she was right.  E told me at different times that his teacher told him to keep his hands to himself, that he held onto his friend's shirt, and that his teacher told him "shhh".  In fact, walking out of preschool he wouldn't hold my hand because he had to keep them to himself.  And apparently what his teacher says is the law.

May I Present...

Noah and Mrs. Noah.  Don't worry, all the animals have been gathered...all the half-animal/half-rattles will be able to repopulate the earth once the rest of their kind has been wiped out by the flood.  And the multi-colored stuffed bears.  Those'll be fine too.

Why yes, the ark was handcrafted with Emerson's plastic tools.  Thank you for asking.

Goings On

Here's what we've been up to lately.

E got to go to the big Buckeye game with Daddy on Saturday.  Apparently he was a very good boy and even fell asleep on Ben in the midst of all the cheering and missed the entire fourth quarter and didn't wake up until they were almost back to the car. :)  He thought it was pretty neat to go with Dad.

Sammi learned how to pull herself onto the little white chairs at the kid table in our kitchen.  She's mighty pleased with herself.

I know she's my daughter because she loves shoes.  She periodically brings me one shoe throughout the day and it's usually because she wants to go outside.  Here was the outfit she wore most of the day:

What can I say?  The girl knows what she wants.

Labor Day

 Labor Day weekend was pretty dang cold this year.  Considering that only a few days earlier it was 90+ degrees, we really felt the difference.  We trekked up to Yellow Springs again this year and went on a nice little nature walk followed by lunch at Young's Dairy.  It was a nice, low-key afternoon.

After Yellow Springs, we all came home and crashed for naps and then went to our ward's annual Pig Roast.  E and Sammi had a blast with their little friends on the playground.  Everything made for a great day until a few hours later Ben got really sick.  I'm thinking it was food poisoning from the ward party and not the stomach flu because none of the rest of us got sick.  You never know who brings what to a potluck like that, so I guess I should just count myself and the kids lucky!

Here are some pictures from the day:

 Studying the fuzzy white caterpillars that were everywhere

 This picture illustrates the differences in our two kids perfectly.  E is just like me--cautious and nervous about things.  Sammi is just like Ben--adventurous and reckless.

 I do exist!

 E with his new friend "Leafy".  Quite an appropriate name I thought.

 Sammi in nature

Sweet little smile

This is our Sammi girl's personality lately.

She won't sit still for a minute.

Camping at Alum Creek

 Prior to Ben's banishment to Springfield (1 hour away) for this month's ambulatory family med rotation, we took a little family camping trip to Alum Creek.  Was I a little worried we were crazy?  Yes.

E remembered camping with Daddy a few short months ago for our ward's Fathers and Sons activity, so he was super stoked.  We started out the camping with a bang because E really had to go potty and couldn't make it to the bathroom station...so what's a boy to do?  Why, give the nearest tree an extra drink, of course!  He thought that was hilarious and consequently had to go potty many times after that.  We made him go to the bathroom station after that though, so that sort of squelched his enthusiasm.

 (There was a large cement parking pad at our campsite, so E got to ride in circles on his little bike during slower moments.)

 In time-out for some infraction...

 Sammi and Dada

He thoroughly enjoyed helping me set up the tent and couldn't wait to go to sleep in it.  He was practically begging to go to bed.  He was so intrigued with the idea of roasting a hot dog in the fire for dinner and was so pleased with himself that he ate the whole thing, bun and all.

We all piled into the tent, read a few chapters of The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and then Ben and I stayed up and chatted around the campfire while warding off raccoons.  Those things are creepy.  It was really nice to just sit and talk to Ben.  E faithfully waited up for us in the tent with his flashlight, and kept poking his head out saying, "Mommy!  Look at those pretty stars!" while Sammi was zonked in her princess-sized pack n' play.  Surprisingly, we all slept really well.  I was expecting much worse.

The next morning we packed up and headed to the Alum Creek beach.  Sammi has never experienced sand before, but she really liked it.  She liked it so much that she kept shoveling handfuls in her mouth and chewing.  I know, it makes me cringe too.  She was so dang fast, it was hard to keep her from doing it.

When it was time to go, E started bawling that he wanted to sleep in the tent for another night and asked if he could bring this sad little wet leaf home.  I think he just wanted something to remember his fun camping trip by. :(  Poor little guy.