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Archive for October, 2007

We had another busy and very fun weekend with the Miller Family in town. Jason, Jason & Zachary went to the big Iowa victory on Saturday while Jill, myself, Noah, Anya and Aubrey hit the mall for some shopping. When the boys were back from the game, we dressed the kids up in their Halloween costumes and went to Night Eyes at the Blank Park Zoo for some trick-or-treating. It got alittle cold at the end of the night, but the kids had a good time and came home with some candy, so they were happy!

Sunday we got up and headed to the Center Grove Orchard pumpkin patch in Cambridge (north of Ankeny and east of Ames). It was a gorgeous day outside and we had a lot of fun going on the hayride, getting lost in the corn maze, picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, playing in the corn pool, petting the goats, pigs and chickens, riding the pedal tractors and so much more. It really was a fun day and we were all pooped by the evening.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend fun. Enjoy!

We had been planning on having G’ma Barb come to stay with us this weekend, but were quite surprised when Papa Jim showed up with her also. Although we were thrilled to see him (especially Anya), I know he would have much rather been at home in the field. But the rain has slowed them down, so they need a few days to get the fields dry enough to get back in them. So, please pray for dry weather and for Old Man Winter to hold off for as long as possible this year!

Since we did have Papa Jim here, we put him to work. We have been wanting to add some extra shelves to the closets in the kids’ bedrooms, so he got right on that project. The closets originally had just one regular bar to hang clothes on and a shelf right about that. Now, each closet has the original bar and shelf, plus another bar and shelf down lower and another shelf above the original shelf, so we have 3 shelves, 2 hanging bars and double the storage…it turned out great! Here is a picture of Anya’s new closet…now I just need to get her some clothes to wear

In other projects, I had my dad hang Anya’s wall letters in her new bedroom (not an easy task since I want them at all sorts of crazy angles) a picture in my livingroom and some plates in my kitchen. Also on Saturday afternoon we decided to make the most of the beautiful day and got the lawn mowed and edged, all the bushes and some trees pruned, and the lawn sprayed for weeds. Inside, my mom and I (well, mostly my mom) vacuumed the whole upstairs, washed all the floors, cleaned the bathrooms, did the laundry and lots of other odd jobs. So, all in all, we had a very productive weekend–Thank You Mom & Dad for all your hard work!

We didn’t just work the whole time they were here though…Saturday morning we ventured down to the downtown Farmer’s Market to check out what they have for sale this time of year. It was a gorgeous fall day and we had a good time. Anya had lots of fun venturing off with Papa Jim….you never know where you are going to find him next (but it is usually talking to someone…) and that is right up Anya’s alley. Then we came home and watched the Hawkeye game, but that wasn’t quite as much fun. Saturday night Jason and I went out for supper at Chicago Speakeasy while Anya stayed with my parents. Sunday morning, Jason made us all pancakes and eggs for breakfast and then G’ma Barb and Papa Jim had to go back home to get ready for the week. Anya wasn’t too fond of the idea of them leaving, but goodbyes have never been her favorite thing.

The shirt says it all!

On Monday, Anya had her first eye doctor check-up since getting her glasses. Her eye doctor noticed immediately what we have been noticing also….that she does everything she can to look anywhere BUT through her glasses. The doctor couldn’t really see a whole lot of improvement in her bad eye from wearing the glasses alone, so she decided that patching is the next plan of attack. So, that means for 6-8 hours a day, Anya has to have her “strong” eye patched to force her “weak” eye to work and become stronger. I don’t know about you, but in toddler time, 6-8 hours a day, everyday, is like FOREVER! After getting over my initial disappointment that we had to start patching, I was bound and determined to get started as soon as possible when we got home from the doctor. So, as Anya took her afternoon nap, I tried to figure out the best way to start this whole patching experience. Well, obviously my plans were all in vain because about 45 minutes after waking up from her nap (and having me endlessly try to get a patch on her eye), Anya was ready to have me move out and I was ready to check myself into the looney bin!

It was definitely a battle of wills consisting mostly of me putting a patch on her, her going ballistic and flopping on the floor like a fish and eventually ripping the patch off, waiting about 10 minutes and starting the whole cycle again. Since I could finally see my approach wasn’t quite working (after going through all 5 sample patches the eye doctor sent home with me), I decided to try the fail-safe approach of good old fashion bribery. Since we were out of patches anyways, I promised Anya we would go to Target to get some more patches and if she wore one, she could pick out a toy. So, off we went to the store and she put the patch on like a trooper (and got the promised toy!).

I am happy to report that she wore the patch for 3 hours last night and 6 hours today at daycare and another 90 minutes tonight at home. I have never been so proud of her as I am that she wore that patch–even though it has only been 2 days she has really been such a big girl about the whole situation. My heart breaks for her every time we have to put one on because I know how sad it makes her and she isn’t quite old enough to understand that it is for her own good. Sometimes it is hard being the parent as I am old enough to understand the benefit of her wearing the patch, yet I was just as frustrated, sad and confused as her, but I had to keep trying even when I wanted to give up too. I was dreading taking her to daycare with the patch on and seeing the reaction of the other kids…I had all these terrible images in my head of her getting teased and laughed at. But, Anya walked right into her room and started looking at a book with one of her good friends and the rest is history….the teachers told me tonight when I picked her up that the other kids didn’t even act like they noticed it. She is quite the little girl and it amazes me how watching her be so brave started to change my attitude about it all too. Having kids really does teach you a lot about yourself!

So, now that we have one good day of wearing the patch down, I am hoping that the next days will come easier and easier. Otherwise, we might own the whole toy section at Target before we are done We will let you know…..

Here is a picture of Anya playing with her patch on.

This weekend we had visitors from Forest City…Zachary and Jason stayed with us to make the trip on Saturday to Iowa City to watch the Hawkeyes. Needless to say, the game was a disappointment, but Anya had a great time having Z here to play with for a few days. We enjoyed having them here also and are looking forward to the whole Miller family coming again in a few weeks for another home Iowa game.