Busy Bees

Yesterday we had a get together at Jeff's Grandma's house, his Aunt Susie ,cousin Tommy and his fiance Jennifer where here for a visit. Walter was excited that he and Daddy showed-up in style in the Ranger.

Today as Walter was playing with my hair he said "mama you hair saying I hungry." I said "it is? How do I feed it?" He said "put food in your mouth, it will go up to your head and then quickly down to your belly." You just never know what is going to come out of their mouths! Yesterday we brought out some puzzles and Rose E played with one she had never played with before anyway, I was surprised when she first saw it and said "bee fly" and "bird" before I even told her what they where. She certainly is our little busy bee these days she is also developing a little mind of her own and knows exactly what she wants.

Better late than never!

Happy Belated Birthday Emily! This picture was taken on Sunday out at the camp, I wanted to post it earlier but we where having computer troubles again, we are good to go now though.

Speaking of this meal, Walter made me laugh as for he didn't want to take too much time to eat because he wanted to play, anyway he asked if he could be excused from the table and I said "no, not yet it doesn't even look like you touched your food" then a minute later he said "I touched my food all over (literally) can I get up now." What a goof!

These other pictures are from the fair this past weekend. Walter sure did get a kick out of his first ride. He had a good time in Depere with his cousin Ariel too, it sounds like. Walter keeps asking to go back to see him and of course to go to the train hobby store again.

The kids entertainment the past few days have been plastic cups and paper plates! They have been stacked into everything from of course trains, to water towers and buildings. Rose E has been dumping toys from cup to cup and has pretended to drink out of them too. The imagination is so much fun to watch in young children! Walter must be rubbing off on his sister because yesterday I caught her driving her food around while making train noises! Her newest accomplishment is that she can point to her head, eyes, belly, hands, and feet when asked.

I set-up my Sunday school class today (I teach kindergarten and first grade) it his hard to believe that the summer is almost over, where did it go?

A sigh of relief!

Phew!!! Jeff's appointment is over and it went well. They did four biopsies along with the colonoscopy and ruled out the possibilities of some causes such as diverticulitis's. So we are still with a big question mark as to what caused his infection a few weeks ago but we are relieved at the same time. It's been a busy couple of days here! Yesterday we snuck in a short visit to the fair. Last year we went as well and Walter saw this kiddie ride that reminded him of the Chinese Dragon train from Thomas, we thought he would be too scared then, so we didn't have him go on it. Anyway, when he found out about the fair he asked if he could go ride on Chinese Dragon! This kids memory just floors me sometimes, how can he still remember things from when he was two? The other day too he saw a train on the computer and he said "that the kind of train that ran over our money (penny)" last labor day weekend in Wisconsin. Back to the fair the kids loved seeing all of the animals. When Rose E saw the rabbits she said "hop, hop" while signing it. It was also cute because when she saw all the rides she said "whee." They didn't have Chinese Dragon this year but they had a similar ride in the shape of an alligator so Walter was happy with that (his first amusement ride). I will post pictures later.
Today Jeff and Walter went to Depere, Wisconsin to help his brother and family move into a bigger home. Everyday Walter has been asking me what day is it today, especially when he has something to look forward too so Jeff found him a car calender and we have been putting a sticker on it every morning. I've been impressed because just after a couple of days he could tell me the month, the year and the days of the week.
Poor Rose E has been dealing with a fever and didn't sleep well last night, not sure what that's all about but she doesn't have a runny nose or anything to accompany it just fussy. Her new words lately have been "peek a boo," food," and "kiss."

What happened to summer?

Yes, this picture of Rose E was taken today! One day we are sweating bullets from the heat the next day I have to bundle them-up like it is winter (welcome to the U.P I guess), we where on our way out the door for our night time walk here. It was also a windy day too so we took out Walter's kite, Walter had a blast with it. Every time the wind would die down and it would land on the ground he would say "uh oh we had a train wreck" (absolutely everything is a train these days)! Walter had his dentist appointment today too and it went well (this time the cleaned his teeth) and Rose E of course enjoyed her time playing at Jeff's grandparents house. As we where leaving the house to go there she said "see ya Daddy, good bye." Her other new words today where "kiss" and "pop." She is also following directions more and more. While she was there she picked-up a dog toy and I said "that's Lacy's (the dog's) go give it to her" and she walked right over there and placed it in front of her. Lately one of her favorite things to do is to sing songs and she often sings about Daddy and Mama and now she has added Papa (grandpa) and Nana (grandma) to the mix.

A busy week

This is the week of appointments for us. Today was Rose E's well baby check-up, it went well but the poor girl had to have some shots(that's always so heartbreaking to watch). She now weighs 24 pounds. I have noticed lately that her legs have gotten longer and slimmed down a little (now that she's on the go all the time) and that showed in her percentiles because her weight was surprisingly only in the 45Th percentile this time and her height in the 65 Th. Tomorrow Walter has another dentist appointment (this time to clean his teeth) and then on Thursday Jeff goes to Marquette for a doctor appointment, ugh, we will be happy when that is over with and we have some answers. Hopefully he gets good news.
The kids have been busy as usual the past couple of days. Yesterday after church we went out to the camp. It was such a hot day but nice out there with the breeze, I tried to take Rose E in for her first dip in Lake Superior but it was still too cold for her liking. So they set-up a little kiddie pool and Walter played inside it while the two of them drove boats around. I had to laugh when we left the camp though because since it was so hot we had the air conditioner on high in the van and Walter said "turn down the wind." He's(well I should say they're) always making us smile! Today he was running laps with Rose E from our kitchen to dinning room and he said "I am Jeff Gordon (a race car driver) and Rose E is heart" (I thought hm heart then I said "Dale Earnhardt Junior" and he said "yes").
It was cute today too because Jeff's parents watched Walter while I took Rose E to her appointment, anyway, Jeff's mom met us outside when I dropped him off and when I got in the van Rose E looked at Walter's spot and said "done!" Tonight Jeff and I got a kick out of her too during our walk because anytime she saw a playground she said "down" (I want to get down and out to play). She is just understanding so much! Then tonight I put her pajamas on and I was playing a game with her socks, I said where does this go and then I would put it in a goofy place like her ear, she would giggle, and then take a turn at putting it somewhere goofy on my like my stomach, while giggling, then finally I said it goes on your foot, where is your foot and she lifted it up for me to put it on.

Mining buildings and smokestacks of course!

And this is what my kitchen looked like today! This was just the beginning stages of the whole entourage of mining buildings and smokestacks of course. They sure found it entertaining. It was a tag team effort, Rose E digging in the pantry and Walter building. (at least it gave me a chance to get my shelves cleaned out I guess) Afterwards Walter topped it off with trains and a matchbox car.

I have been blown away with the little conversations lately with my little Rose Bud! This morning I said "is that what you want?" She said "that is." Then later on she said "mama?" I said "what Rose E" she said "hi." This evening I had to laugh too because we where looking at a picture of Jesus and I said to her "who is that?" She turned to me and said "someone." She also repeated "okay" today too.

Creativity plus!

Rose E made a new discovery today, how to open all of our cabinet doors and drawers! She is now officially into EVERYTHING! It was cute though because it started out that she was dragging her pull dog around while I was making lunch and I said "Oh does your doggy need a drink?" So I pulled out a little container and wha la the light bulb went on. The kids then used my plastic containers for everything from a train horn(which is what they are doing in the picture), to helmets, to a water tower to different buildings. It's been fun to watch that they have been playing more and more together too.

Lately Walter has been asking about trees so this afternoon we went on a scout for different kinds of trees. We took pictures of them and collected leaves (then covered them with contact paper) and I have started to make him his own tree book. Then I thought we would go back for each season and take pictures of them then too. He was fascinated with how many different kinds there are and started to recognize some of them.

He has been making us laugh at meal times whenever we sit down to eat too he says welcome to (pizza hut, or Chilli's, Arby's etc). He sure is just like his Daddy a little jokester and keeps us smiling that is for sure. Rose E has been quite the little social bug when she sees people lately too. Even if they are a distance away she has been saying "hi" and then when we are all done talking to them "see ya." Her new words lately have been "ball", "ruff ruff" and "on."

Trucks, cars and playgrounds who could ask for anything more?

We've had lots of fun the past couple of days. Yesterday I took the kids to this fire truck museum in Calumet. They had some interesting things there and one of the men even let Walter sit in a few of the old trucks and see the engine. They just don't build building like they used too, upstairs in the old firemen quarters is a work in progress but is pretty neat with all the old woodwork, wainscoting, and a fancy fire place. It had the old beds, a fire pole, a cooking stove and bath tub too. I also added a picture of Rose E next to an old horse drawn hearse, Walter got a big kick out of it, just a bit different than his Daddy's!
Today Walter had fun watching the construction across the street from us. As he saw one of the excavators digging-up the sidewalk he said "Mama is that excavator eating?" Though he loves watching the trucks I will be glad when it is all done. Tonight we met Cyrus and his family and had ice cream with them then played at the playground. It was nice, it's fun to see the two boys together and to listen to their conversations as well as imaginary play. Then we topped of the evening and let Walter drive his motorized lightning car, he was in his glory!
Little miss Rose E here isn't missing a beat. Yesterday I said something about her hair (which by the way is now blond and is getting curlier by the minute) and she touched her hair then I said where are your feet and she touched her feet. Little smartie! She is also now running and boy is she ever a Speedy Gonzalo! She was cracking me up yesterday as she was running in the yard she would run to a spot where she had to turn around and say "the end" then go to another corner and do the same.

A visit to a fish hatchery!

Yesterday our summer literacy story hour ended off the program with a field trip to a fish hatchery in Aura. It was very interesting, they raise them from eggs and then stock them back into the lakes. Just one of these troughs held 30 thousand trout! Of course the kids favorite part was when they took a couple of the trout out and let the them touch the fish (then they released them into a creek). Walter's description was that they felt "soapy" I think he was trying to think of a way to say slimy. You can see his cousin Cale in the pictures too. Oh and another interesting tid bit was that they sedate the fish and clip a part of their fins so that they later can record information on them when they recatch them in the lakes. So if you are ever fishing and catch a fish with a clipped fin or metal piece in its nose you know it came from a hatchery.
Then tonight we went to the story hour in our library. Walter is so fascinated with the huge chimney at the school and it made me laugh last week because he said "mama that smokestack is attached to the school so does the school move?" We hit the jack pot tonight at the library because he found a book about a coal miner and it was about a mine and trains, his two favorite topics lately!
Rose E is just talking away and understanding everything! I had to laugh a few days ago because after lunch Jeff ate a cookie (she has been saying "please" lately asking for food and even said "thank you" the other day too" ) anyway she wanted one, so I said you have to eat your food first, so she then scarfed down her food! She is also making me chuckle too as for when she doesn't want to do something such as have her diaper changed she will scold us with gibberish and it is the funniest thing to hear. As many of you know Jeff and his Dad work together a lot, anyway Jeff had a school board meeting yesterday and Walter was asking where he was going and when I said "to a meeting" she replied "Papa?" (with Papa)? On Sunday too we all went out to the camp which was fun and it took me by surprise because when she saw her baby cousin Brady she said "hi Brady." Little smarty!

A new name for our residency!

We where busy little bees buzzing all over today. Earlier today we did a little shopping and then this evening we took a drive out to the camp. Walter made me laugh after we did some shopping, he saw a group of motorcycles pulling into a motel and he said "I want to go to our motel." I said "what motel?" He then said our address and I said "Oh what is the name of our motel" and he said "loggabella." Fancy smanzy eh! That imagination is just taking off! He has been playing with pretend food lately and it is so funny the scenarios he comes up with. One day I had to wear a hat that was about three times too small for me and pretend to be "an ice cream seller (if anybody would have peeked into our windows it would have been quite the site to see me counting block money and handing out fake food)." Rose E has been digging it too and pretends to eat the food as well! She has been into the laughs too lately, today in the car someone even laughed on the radio and then she was rolling, it is so cute. I have also noticed that she is now saying some phrases with I in them (she is getting too big too fast)! Today she said "I all done" and "I want that." Oh and I had to laugh too today because I brought out two pull string dogs for the kids and they where having fun walking their dogs around our house in the big circle from the kitchen to the dinning room anyway she got fed-up with not being able to keep up with Walter and his dog so she picked her dog up and ran with it! Couple of goofs in this house!

Some overdue photos!

Well, here it is finally, the pictures from our home tour. It was kinda fun to dress-up, the morning of the tour I even had somebody put my hair into a bun too. Oh and I forgot to mention earlier that our flowers looked beautiful too. We had an arrangement on our dinning room table where they put flowers into an old teapot of my Grandmother's, an arrangement on our kitchen island, and roses in our wash basin pitcher that my Grandpa gave to me. I also stuck some flowers in a couple of vases in Rose E's room, they seemed to add a lot. We are still talking about all of the comments that people said and everywhere we go somebody seems to comment about the tour. The next picture is of the Red Hat Society ladies who helped us that day, we where grateful for them that is for sure.

Slowly but surely we are trying to get back into some normalcy here now that it is all done (Phew) now we just have to got through all of the modern stuff that we hauled into our basement! It was nice because a couple days after the tour we met Emily, Kirsten, Cale, and Brady at the park. The kids really seemed to have a good time together.

Yesterday too my parents came for a visit. On Thursday we took a jaunt up to Copper Harbor and had a nice meal at the Lodge which is where this picture was taken and then enjoyed the scenery as we drove around. The picture of Jeff and Walter was taken along the roadside where we walked in the sand along Lake Superior. Then today Walter was beside himself that he and Daddy got to take Papa A.J on a ride on the Ranger four wheeler. It sounded like they had lots of fun together.

The kids sure have been keeping us entertained as usual! Walter is now coming up with ways to tease us, little trickster. Anyway he was excited the other day that we where able to pick tomatoes, broccoli, and a green pepper out of our garden to eat. At supper time then as we where eating the cooked broccoli he turned to us and said "you a broccoli, you a broccoli, you a broccoli but me is not, me gonna eat you all up." Goof. Rose E has been keeping us smiling too. She is still saying "see ya" when she plays peek a boo, but is also saying "bye bye" after the " see ya" as she covers her eyes. The smiles and laughs never stop coming in this household!

Home tour news

Sorry to all who have been wondering how the home tour went with no updates. The modem to our computer went out so we haven't had a computer until just now (we had to have a new one shipped). Anyway, the home tour was a huge success. We had over two hundred and twenty five people come through our house and had many nice compliments. The tour lasted from 1 in the afternoon until 4 and we had a steady stream of people almost the entire time, it was fun.
My parents are visiting right now so I will be sure to add a picture of Jeff and I all dressed-up tomorrow evening.

Happy Birthday Papa!

Sending warm wishes to "papa" on his birthday! Hope your Birthday's a good one!