Calvin called me the other day

And we actually had somewhat of a conversation. Kala and I were at the mall shopping (trying on a hundred shirts in a dressing room) when I heard my cell phone ring in my purse. The caller ID said Dave's cell, so I answered with a "hi!" and then I heard some rustling around. I kept saying "hello?" wondering if maybe he called me by mistake. Then I heard a little "hiiiii" and I could tell it was Calvin's voice. I started asking him questions and he was answering me! I said "hi Calvin! Are you with daddy?" and I hear a little "mmm-hmmm". So thinking it was a fluke, I asked him another question: "Are you with Violet?".... "mmm-hmmm" again. "Do you miss mommy?"..."mmm-hmmm" again. And then he said "mama!!" then Dave picked up the phone and was like "did you call me?" and then lots of screaming in the background because the phone was obviously ripped out of Calvin's hands. Dave was really confused, but both of us thought it was so fun that Calvin managed to call me and "talk" a little. haaa!!

Memorial Day Weekend 09

I'm still trying to contemplate how it is the year 2009 already. Its been 10 years since I graduated high school. My high school reunion is planned for a weekend in July in Mason City but it is over the same weekend that Dave and I will be in Minnesota for his grandma's 90th birthday party. I wasn't really planning on going anyway, but it is nice to have an excuse. Kala, Josh, Carrie, Austin and Renee were here over Memorial Day weekend. We didn't really do anything celebratory for the holiday weekend, we just utilized a long weekend to get together. The weather turned out really beautiful. We were able to eat outside on the porch for all the meals and we grilled lots of food. BBQ ribs, chicken, veggies....to name a few. The kids all played pretty well together...most of the time. There were melt downs and lots of screaming as well as lots of laughter. Austin is 4, Violet is 3, Renee is 2, and Calvin is 1. This time the visit of her cousins seemed to bring out the sassy and fiesty side of Violet. She is tough to befriend at this time, she has her favorite people to hang out with, and says things she doesn't realize are hurtful. Its like a new phase of testing she has begun. She is also growing really possessive of HER STUFF. Her cups, her plates, her bed, her door, etc. I think its the timing of her age and her stage of growing up and becoming more independent, and a big part of that process is having possession and control over things. I don't quite understand the balance I need to teach her about that concept. Calvin is a little delight unless he is sitting in a chair at church. He says "All dahh!" ALL of the time now, in between every bite almost. He has the cutest little "Ooooooh!" starting high pitched and going lower when he sees something of interest. I took a pic of Kala and Calvin together and showed him the pic, he had the same reaction. He loves to copy everyone and of course, loves attention. Kala decided to spend some time with our family during her "summer off". She came on Monday, May 18th and plans to leave on Wed the 27th. She wanted to give of her time and energy to help out around here with the house and the kids, and she's done exactly that. I have gotten to the point of really loving having her around, its been really nice. She has more experience with lots of different ages of kids after having spent so much time working in a day care, and cares for Calvin like he is her own. The running joke has been that he was hers and Violet was mine, because Calvin and Kala both have such light blonde hair. He has really taken to her. Its been really great to get to know her better, too.

Such a beautiful day

We ate every meal outside today...it was just so nice. It was sunny, breezy, and 83 was the high. The kids, Kala and I went to the park and to HyVee this morning. The little ones took naps while we enjoyed the summer's first turkey BLT sandwiches and chips - it was perfect.

It is going to be a fun week!

I am looking forward to this week. Dave's cousin Kala is coming to visit from Ohio. She said she's going to take off from her house tomorrow morning and make the drive in one day - I wonder when she'll be here? She is coming to give of her time and energy to help us and also get to know us better. She's such a sweet girl and very thoughtful and caring. She has spent many weeks out of this summer traveling to see many members of her family in PA and the Bahamas, we're flattered that she would pick a week out of her summer to spend with us. Violet is really excited to see her. She remembers her from visits in the past when we've gone to Ohio, and last year they came out to see us, and she and Violet connected via sharing cell phones, lol. Josh and Carrie (and Austin and Renee) are also coming out to visit next weekend for Memorial Day weekend, arriving some time on Friday and leaving Monday. It'll be a house full! This past weekend was tough on me and Dave. He spent all of his spare time at the river house working on damaged stuff - leaky pipes, a busted toilet, shocking the well water (the buyer wants to get a water sample), and he had to run back and forth to the store many times to fix things that kept breaking. I "got stuck" with kid duty all weekend, and didn't get a break. Dave misses the kids and me, and we haven't connected as a couple much lately. I sort of feel like we're doing the roommate thing lately. We might get a date night next week with Kala here. She mentioned babysitting so we could go out. I don't know if we're going to keep our committments to going to our regular Tues and Wed night groups - I'm feeling really overwhelmed with "stuff" going on and want to slow down and do nothing for awhile, especially since Kala will be here. Time with her is going to be brief. I haven't mentioned these plans to Dave yet, I will have to ask him and see what he thinks.

Another word or two, and an Awww

This morning when I got Calvin out of his crib, I could smell that he was poopy, so I changed his diaper first thing. He still had his paci in his mouth and was clutching his favorite blue blankie. When I was done and got him all zippered up (I just left on his PJs for the morning), I picked him up and he caught a glimpse of the dirty diaper I was going to dump in the toilet. He pointed, got all jumpy in my arms, quickly grabbed his paci out of his mouth, and proudly said "Poo-poo!" It totally made my morning. :) Most of his vocab consists of grunts, screeches and crying, and a few words. He can say mama, hi (usually accompanied with a clumsy wave), bye-bye, uh-oh, and now poopoo. Sometimes he will say "ah-dah" for "all done", but not consistently. He is learning to jump, too. He gets flight when pushing off the floor with two feet. He woke up earlier than Violet after naps today, so he was watching a baby video. Violet woke up a half hour after he did, she joined him on the couch, and as soon as he noticed her, he got excited and said "hhhiiiii" and leaned in to give her a big squeeze. It was too cute. Violet reciprocated the hug (of course I didn't get a pic).

Mother's Day today

Violet was (as usual) the first one awake. Dave woke up right when she did and swept her downstairs, I was still a little groggy, but I knew something was up. I hopped in the shower quick and started to get dressed and Violet and Dave walked back into our room. V was ecstatic to give me two cards - one from "the kids" and one from Dave, they were both very sweet. Violet had written Calvin's name and her name on the cards from the kids. Dave gave me a gift card with some money worth enough to buy me some new shirts for my trip to NYC next month!! :) Dave made pancakes for breakfast for the family, and I got a biiig heart shaped pancake. It was sweet. He tried a new pancake recipe with mashed banana in it, it was yummy. We ate out for lunch and tried taking our lunch to a picnic table outside, but it was just a little too chilly and windy, so we decided to take our food back home. When the kids went down for naps, I went to Hy-Vee and picked up a couple flats of annual flowers (marigolds and some other bright red flower) to plant below our mailbox. Dave and I both worked on it, it came out really nice. I love seeing a punch of color there to break up all the green. We also planted some canna bulbs in the back yard, but we're not sure if they're going to grow - it is a little late to be planting those. We tried to relax during the kids' nap times. I was perfectly satisfied to sit at the table and peruse through the Sunday paper. Dave was a little more antsy, torn between getting the lawn mowed and staying with me inside trying to relax. We made a trip to Walmart to get our annual "make cupcakes for mommy on Mother's Day" thing (its turning into an annual thing - V and Dave made them last year for me), so this year I picked out chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, and requested that a white creamy filling be injected into the cupcakes. They did a good job. Violet got to break the eggs (eek!), scoop the batter into the muffin tins. I tried putting Calvin to bed at that point (it was 7 pm), and V and I went out for "a walk" which meant I walked and she rode her trike. We rode around the neighorhood again, and went all around the parking lot again north of Orchard Hill Church. When we got home, Dave was still working on injecting cream into the cupcakes, and Calvin was screaming. Poor kid, apparently he wasn't ready for bed yet - so I let him get up and run around for an hour, and after that hour he was definitely ready. Violet went to bed in a really whiney and crabby mood - not the best way to end the day. But overall, it was a nice day, and I appreciate all the effort Dave made to make this day special for me. :D

I don't realize her capabilities until she's on her own

This morning Violet woke me up at 6:45 something...I was not ready to get up then, so I told her go to play by herself. She actually did, and let me sleep in til 8 am. When I got up, it was because she was on the stairs crying and wouldn't stop. She was trying to bring her stroller upstairs, which was LOADED with all her bedtime stuff...her pillow, every blanket possible, her purple bear, and baby. Calvin was still sleeping and I didn't want her crying to wake him up, so I got up and helped her. I wish she would have just said "Mommy, I need help" instead of screaming and crying to get my attention. I went downstairs to inspect any possible damage of her being alone for an hour and fifteen minutes, but found none, other than evidence that she knows more to do than I thought. She had pulled the cords to shut the vertical blinds across the deck doors/windows because it was "too bright" for her. She carried her heavy wooden stool downstairs from her bathroom and put it against the fridge, filled a sippy cup with water from the fridge dispenser (which meant unscrewing and rescrewing the cap tightly and the right way), and went pee and poppy by herself (and even wiped well! wow!). Calvin woke up around 9 am, and I made some homemade pancakes and dyed the batter pink, so she could have pink pancakes. Good thing Calvin doesn't care yet, lol. She was excited about the pink pancakes and kept thanking me for them.

Some pics

Yes, I got crafty. I painted these two pots for my original plant, and I got an African Violet, so it definitely needed a cute pot: We had fun getting our feet wet and making foot prints. :) We didn't know this tree turned a beautiful pink until last week!

Beat the rain today

I spent most of the morning today out of the house with a friend, Kim and her 3 yr. daughter Katie. We went to work out, then to the library for story time, the grabbed McDonalds and ate lunch at the park under the shelter. The girls were so goofy, running out into the sun to "get warmed up" and running back to their food and taking bites. We played at the park for an hour, then left when they started melting down because they were exhausted and tired. Kim and I gave the girls double "under-ducks" on the swing - they laughed so hard. It wore the kids out, big time. Violet and Calvin were exhausted by the time we got home, and easily went down for long naps. As soon as I got them down for naps and took a shower, I heard the thunder start rolling and random bouts of rain would down pour and stop. Spring is SO here! Yay! The flowers are blooming, the tree on the front side of our house is completely bright pink (so pretty!), and the bushes and trees are filling in.

Calvin - 16 months - I think we have another singer

At his 15 mo appointment he was an ounce shy of 25 pounds. No wonder he's a lug to carry around places. He might not have words to sing, but the kid can hum on tune. I just got done putting him to bed, and before I lay him down in his crib, we always snuggle and rock in place while I sing Jesus Loves Me. He knows the tune to this song in little spurts. I put him in his crib tonight, and he rolled over and looked up at me, and started humming it. He has also picked up a few tunes from a couple songs we always listen to in the car when we're driving. Violet recognizes that he hums the tune and picks up on it with the words. He loves it also when I "play" with his food and do the airplane trick. Zooooooom around goes his food in the air and eventually into his mouth. He giggles every time I do it. And he picks up his own food pieces and goes "Oooooohhhh!" and throws the food to copy the effect. Its too cute. He doesn't say a whole lot, but I know he understands plenty. He is beginning to understand simple commands and obeying them, like "Pick this up and bring it to me." or "Go get your blanket". And that blanket...he's got an addiction problem. There are times when he is left with people who baby sit for him, and when I come back to pick up the kids, he is so excited to see me and runs up to me, but he stops short and realizes he doesn't have his special blankie and pacifier to snuggle with. He stops in his tracks, looks around frantically for his blanket and paci before I can pick him up and greet him. The blanket is already looking rather dingy, and I have to be strategic about taking it away so I can wash it in the washer.

I forgot to mention

That last week was Dave's 33rd birthday on April 22nd. He was traveling out of state, so he couldn't be with us, but I told Violet that it was daddy's birthday, and she made sure to sing him the happy birthday song a few times through out the day. I remember (sort of) my dad's 32nd, or 33rd, or 34th birthday party. He had a cake, blew out the candles, and the rest is history. I was around 4 or 5 years old, so those memories are pretty flighty and not very connected. Mom put a big 32 (or whatever year it was) on the cake. I doubt Violet will remember this year's birthday for Dave, as she's just nearing 3 1/2. I made Dave a birthday cake today (yeah, we're celebrating a week and a half late!) that neither of us will forget, it was so fun. I found instructions online for making this crazy rainbow cake making white cake and dividing up the batter into 6 separate bowls, and dying each one a different color of the rainbow, and plopping the batter in the pan one color on top of another. So I tried it...and I'm stick in a pic on the post just because we had so much fun seeing what the final product was. Violet Oohed and Aaahed as the cakes came out of the oven. She said "Mommmy made you a colorful cake, daddy!" It came out of the oven past her bedtime, so she didn't have time to have any tonight...I'm sure the first words out of her mouth in the morning are going to be asking for a piece of it. Most of the morning and afternoon was spent searching for another vehicle. Two reasons we want to get a second vehicle: 1) Its a pain just having one, and 2) We don't have anything to tow the boat with (I asked Dave if our old Honda Odyssey could tow it, apparently not, its a wimpy van, lol). The boat is a permanent fixture in the garage until we can move it, or even use it for boating this summer. We didn't buy anything, but we searched a few dealers and are getting a better idea of which we are considering. Violet also got a new summer toy to play with, and she's CRAZY about it. She begs me to go outside and play with it all the time now, which is a good thing. She got a trike with three rubber wheels, its from Scheels, called the Trek Trikester. I am not sure I spelled that right. The seat is pushed as far forward as it can go, and her feet barely, and I mean BARELY touch the wheels. The seat goes back 5 more notches, so she'll get tons and tons of use out of it. One day this past week we took a walk...she rode her trike down the sidewalk and I pushed Calvin in the stroller. She goes ahead of me, and we went probably a mile. Up and down hills. But the time we got back from that walk she was exhausted. Another favorite thing for her to do is go with me to the Orchard Hill Church parking lot north of the building and use the big, open space to ride it as fast as she can. Usually when we go, the lot is completely empty, or has just a couple cars in it. Its just a couple blocks one direction and a couple blocks another direction, so it takes just minutes to get to. It gets her some good exercise too!! We got a good deal on buying two trikes at the same time, so she has a pink one, and Calvin has a blue one, but he won't be able to ride it for about 2 more years. Yeah, its a long time to wait, but we figure its good to have a spare if Violet has a friend over or something, they can both use them outside. Her cousin Austin would have a blast on the blue one - Josh and Carrie are coming to visit for Memorial Day weekend so we'll see how he takes to it then. So now for pics. And yes, I put pink sprinkles on my husband's birthday cake.