good times

Thanks to Dillan's soccer league in the fall, we had a free round of mini golf for the whole family. I believe the last time we took Dillan, he was in a stroller and just watched Mommy and Daddy, not really knowing what else to do.

Dillan had a lot of fun. He insisted that Daddy help him get set up each time. Daddy would patiently get his hands in the right position, then demonstrate how to hit the ball. He did very well and was having so much fun. He's been asking when we can go back and do it again. He still practices his grip, making sure he's got it right.

Both the kids loved the hole that the ball was hit into the hole and then magically popped out of a hole a few feet away to a completely different patch of green. Over and over again, Dillan was determined to figure out how this was happening. We must have returned to that spot a million times. He'd hit his ball, watch it fall in the hole, and then sprint top speed down the hill to see it come out the side of a rock. Seriously, that boy could be an engineer. A brain like his Papa's no doubt.

Daddy Kisses

Daddy has established a morning routine around here. Once he's all dressed and ready to leave, he'll announce "Kisses!" for everyone to here. When this happens, 4 pounding bare feet come racing to him.
Leah always comes first. Daddy leans over and she plants a big wet raspberry on his cheek. Sometimes the lips.
Then Daddy waits till she says, "Dillan kisses!"
Dillan shares his kisses and hugs with Daddy.
Finally, Leah shouts, "Mommy kisses!" and it's Mommy's turn for luva luv from Daddy.

She watches closely to make sure each of her commands is executed to her satisfaction. Then, as he descends the stairs, she says "OK, bye Daddy!"

Chris loves this. He lives for it every morning as he leaves for work. It's something special that he shares with his little girl.


Oh and here's the latest joke of the day my sweetheart shared with me. He had heard it from a stand-up comic.

My wife has become very lazy lately, or as she describes it: "Pregnant."
Yeah. So funny. Of course, I don't expect him or any other man to understand what its like.
And, thanks to the many male influences I've encountered in my life, I know not to take him too seriously. Ever.

more from Dillan...

I've been taking to laying in Daddy's chair quite often, just to keep the nausea down. I normally end up falling asleep, regardless of the time of day.
Dillan came over to me while I was on the chair and cuddled up next to me. Then he spoke with a quite whisper:

"Mommy, can I be a bishop when I get bigger?"

Hmmm. Not sure where that came from.

"Yes Dillan. You absolutely can be a bishop when you get bigger."

Then he smiled and walked away.

He was back just a moment later with that pensive, thoughtful face that brings a smile to my face every time.

"But Mommy, do firemen go to church?"

"Yes Dillan, firemen go to church."

I heart that boy.

With no appetite, I pulled out an old reliable friend that I've loved since forever:
an orange flavored Otter Pop. No other flavor will do.
Mmmhmm...
Seriously, who throws up an Otter Pop?

big brotherly advice

(sometime last week, 40 minutes before school starts)

Mommy: OK, time to get dressed for school!
Dillan: (arms folded, huge scowl on face) I'm not going to school EVER AGAIN!
Mommy: REALLY? Well, okay. Leah, do YOU want to go to Ms Carol's school today?
Leah: (copying big brother to a tee) NO!
Mommy: NO!? Well, that's too bad. I think you would like Ms Carol's school.
Dillan: (right on cue) Yeah Leah, you get to do lots of fun things! You get to color...
Leah: yeah, color!
Dillan: ...you get to paint! You get to write your name all by yourself! You get to sing songs! And Leah, the most important thing: you get to play outside with the toys!
Leah: toys, yeah!
Dillan: School is so much fun Leah. Ms Carol and Ms Melissa are really nice and you know what Leah? They have a potty!
Leah: yeah potty!
Mommy: OK. So Leah, do you want to go to school today?
Leah: YEAH!
Dillan: Sorry, Leah. You have to be 3. I'm the only one in our family that gets to go to school because I'm 4.
Mommy: That's true Dillan. So, are you ready to go to school today?
Dillan: Yes Yes YES!



Like the quote by the boat place says in Lake Elsinore:
"You only have 18 summers to spend with your kids! How will you spend it?"
(it's not summer, but it got me thinking about how many more years of schooling are ahead)

Little Jumper

Leah hates it when Dillan is dropped off at school. She just hates it. We decided to try and find an affordable activity she could participate in while he's at school. There's dance, but I think we'll start that when she's 3. Then I found a preschool gymnastics class through the city for 1 to 3 year olds.

Today was the first day of her class. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew she did fine in Nursery as long as I wasn't around (hence, my banishment from that room), but this was all going to be new. I got her dressed in comfy clothes, put up her hair in pigtails and we were set.



Right when we entered the room she pulled out her pigtails, leaving a crazy mess on her head. There were so many fun things set up around the room, and she saw them all. There were a lot of kids with their mommies there, and I think that helped her feel comfortable.
Her teacher is fun and energetic. She walked right over to us and asked us our names. Then she took Leah's hand and showed her all the fun things that we were going to play with. Then the music started and we were off in our routines.



It was perfect. She was so into it. She jumped on the trampolines, walked the balance beams, climbed over the logs, rolled down the wedges, and swung on the bars. Soon she asked that her hair be put back "pretty." I only found one of the bands she had thrown out, and so put one spout on the top of her head. She ran right over to the teacher to show her her pretty hair.



At one point, the teacher wanted to demonstrate one of the bars. She took Leah to help her demonstrate. Leah climbed up the step, grabbed the bar, and the teacher helped lift her so that her stomach was over the bar. Then she let go and Leah held the position! Whoa! I didn't even know she could do that! She looked like a pro!



At the end of class the teacher stamped everyone's hands and feet with a frog stamp. She couldn't wait to show Dillan and Daddy her stamps.
So much fun!



By the way:



Although I had my suspicions, we didn't find out for sure until a few days before Christmas, once I started feeling nauseous. I didn't want to have my hopes up for a repeat of September, but there is a baby this time!
I finally got to see Dr B who was unavailable during the holidays. Proud to say he was very surprised to see me after seeing me in Sept and to see how far along I already am. You gotta think that man has seen it all!
So the baby's measuring to be born around July 23, but we'll see.

Ready to be done with being sick. However, I have found that sunflower seeds really keep the nausea away. Strange. I've stocked up and keep some in my car, my purse, and cupboards.
We're so excited.
Don't care if its a boy or girl. Just healthy!

Christmastime

We had a great Christmas round here. Of course, like last year, I was sure to pull out the video camera, but forgot my point and shoot, so don't have any pictures to post. I do have lots of video, but it probably won't show up here. Instead it's going to be nicely tucked away with the rest of our family home movies, to be showed only to the brave.

Dillan had a fun program at school this year, full of singing, dancing, and even a speaking part. He made many facial expressions during the program, probably too embarrassed to sing, but it was fun to watch. His teachers worked so hard to make it special, they are the sweetest people around and I am so grateful for all their love and teaching they have given to Dillan.



Dillan had a lot of fun counting down till Santa. He really tried to be good, since Mommy kept reminding him that Santa did not visit naughty boys. He loved telling the nativity story over and over with the little nativity sets we have. At the Creche Festival he made his own Baby Jesus lying in a manger ornament and hung it proudly on our tree.
We took the kids to Thoroughbred, where we walked the streets, even though it was cold. They loved all the lights, the sounds, and all the people.

Christmas Day, after all the tons of presents Dillan opened, he said "Mommy, Merry Christmas!" And gave me a big hug and kiss. He was disappointed that he didn't get to see Santa, to which we explained that Mommy and Daddy have never seen him either, he likes to be sneaky.

Leah had to be dragged out of bed Christmas morning, and didn't budge until Dillan came in and told her to get up. She found a kitchen under the tree among the rest of her goodies. She has not stopped playing with it and loves preparing our daily meals. She must get that from her grandparents!

The next day, Daddy called from work and announced that he had changed his schedule around to have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off and wanted to take a trip to St George. So, with not much planning, we packed up real quick and set out!

We were so excited to see Uncle David, Sylvia, Asher and Nelina, since they live so far away and we haven't seen them in so long! We had lots of fun playing with everyone, cooking with Grandma, laughing and catching up!



Really, the best kind of holiday you're gonna find.