Sunday, March 30, 2008

Happy Birthday Baby!



My little Annalise turned 3 on Friday! She got a call from her Papa that morning and when he asked how old she was she said 'o-most free'. She seems to think 'almost 3' is the actual age - 1, 2, almost 3, 4, 5. I have been talking it up for a long time, and I am sure I have completely confused her.

No big party, since Easter was the week before - it is tough to ask the families to make the long drives. We took her to Jumpin Jacks that night and the kids had a great time on the inflatables slides and jump house-thingies. We went right at 5 and the place was pretty empty, so they had it to themselves for awhile. Tarik thought the kids were pretty funny and he got a kick out of watching them. I did let him crawl around in one, and he liked it until he got stuck on his back in the corner. He just couldn't get himself rolled back over.

Here are a couple pics of the big girl!





Friday, March 21, 2008

The other man

I fell in love with him before I knew my sweet wonderful husband, and never stopped loving him. I have only seen him a few times over the years, but think and hear of him frequently. He is busy with his own life, though I hope we will see eachother again some day. Of course, I will have to fight off my own sisters for a chance at him. I did have the pleasure of seeing him recently in Chicago, thanks to my main man. Here is just a little picture.



Isn't he awesome?! It was a great concert - really great! And I do get to see him again, with my BFF in April. I am the luckiest girl in the world! :)

Back to my favorite topic - teeth! They just do not stop coming in. I posted last that Tarik got his 5th tooth on the 10th. He got his 6th on the March 13th and his 7th tooth on March 16th. Seriously, that is quick. 7 teeth and he is not quite 11 months. He also got his second haircut last week.

It is Spring Break week, so Gary and I have been juggling days off, with the help of G&G M. Last Sunday we went to Omaha's awesome Henry Doorly Zoo. Then we surprised the kids with a stay at a hotel with a waterpark. We haven't ever been to one, but since we weren't doing anything else on spring break, we figured we would splurge. They were very surprise and had an awesome time. Tarik loved the water and would have drowned himself if I had let him. He just crawled and crawled around the baby pool, which slightly sloped out from zero depth to about 2 feet. And he crawled right into fountains of water shooting up and under dumping water from above, never cried, never sputtered. He loved it. Annalise was quite happy in the baby pool too. She was not happy if we took her in anything deeper. And the one slide she tried splashed her in the face, so she was done with that. The place had 4 small slides, 3 medium, and 3 big ones (that actually went outside the building). Katie and Jack thought it was pretty cool!



Monday, March 10, 2008

They grow so fast






So, 2 days after my last post, Tarik got his 4th tooth, and then 4 days after that he had his 5th tooth. And by-golly, there is a big lump on the other side, so tooth number 6 is close.
And the weekend after my last post, Tarik mastered pulling up to his feet and now is starting to 'cruise' around the furniture. He particularly like to hang on to the rails overlooking the steps to the basement and shake them - making his poor momma have a heart attack. They are attached pretty well, due to some gluing (ask Gary about the one that is upside down), so nothing to worry about... HA!

Annalise is doing great going on the potty chair - and she still gets excited every time she goes. So cute. Some days she still insists on wearing a pull-up, but she keeps it dry all day and has been dry all night a few times too.
She is learning so much from her big brother and sister, mostly the bad stuff - like saying NO to me. They do it and know when I am serious and they need to cut it out, but she hasn't figured that part out yet, so she tends to get herself into trouble. I have also caught her giving Tarik stern little lectures, 'No Thank You Tarik. We do not hit our friends!' He looks at her with these confused big eyes trying to figure out why the toy he was drooling on was just swiped from his chubby little fingers. This is a phrase I know she hears at daycare and it just is so funny to hear her say it, but I have to scold her about treating him like a little brother and not a doll.

Katie seems to have grown up alittle lately. And I am sure it will pass, but lately she has accepted punishment with a simple 'OK'. Such as no more TV, because she bolted from the dinner table in 4 minutes flat to see the same (but it's my favorite!!) episode of SpongeBob for the 100th time. And she has been better about helping me with simple chores. And she comes in from school and super politely asks me how my day was. Now, she did have a fit about not getting to sit by me at dinner the other day and threw herself on the floor-as if she was Annalise's age. But, in general she seems easier to reason with and knows when she needs to suck it up and deal with it.

Jackson - not so much. He is 6, and it is often hard for me to remember what Katie acted like 2 years ago. So, I am not sure when I am expecting too much. He still has the shortest attention span. (jack put on your shoes, jack your shoes, Jack, JACK, JACKSON - huh? PUT ON YOUR SHOES. then it starts over with the coat.) But, he must be the most cuddly, huggy thing. He loves to crawl in bed with us and play with my hair until he is back asleep. When he can't sleep with me, then he will try for one of his sister's beds and there they are arms around each other and they all seem to sleep better that way. He is a momma's boy for now. I am sure it won't last, so I will take it while I can.



Only 3 more days of work this week, then Spring Break and Gary and I are juggling a few days of vacation, with the help of Papa M! YAY!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

#4

I had meant to post something this week about the kids, what all has been going on, etc. since I had not posted since the end of the Packers season. (I have not and will not discuss that ending with anyone outside of a true-green fan.) I was feeling guilty about that. Jen posts about the kids, I post about football. My priorities were mixed up and I was going to remedy that. But then today happened, Tuesday March 4, 2008. The day we all knew would happen eventually, HE retired.

So do I post on and on about HIM and football or do I try and forget the fact and post something about what's truly important? Let's try both.

Since that Sunday when HE took the field for the first time (and I do remember that game) here is what has happend:


Great moments in my life since September 20, 1992
  • I fell in love
  • Got married
  • Witnessed the birth of three of my children
  • Traveled half-way around the world to bring home my other child
  • Watched all my siblings get married
  • Welcomed 15 nieces and nephews into our family
  • Became a godfather to 3 of them
  • Bought our first home
  • Built our next home
  • Been laid off
  • Found a job/career I love
  • Watched two of my children start school
  • Traveled to Europe and Africa
  • Put on weight
  • Lost weight
  • Made new friends
  • Lost contact with old ones
  • Sat on a beach in Mexico with my wife at sunset realizing how great life can be.
And through all this I got to watch, on TV and in person, a game played by someone who loved to play. (Just ask John Madden)

So, Thank you Brett.


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