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Archive for October, 2008

Tonight was Beggar’s night here in the Des Moines area, so we dressed the kids up in the Halloween costumes and hit Evans Boulevard for some treats. Anya was a butterfly princess and Josiah was a hot dog—both very cute! As some of you may know, it is tradition for kids in Des Moines to tell a “joke” as their trick before receiving their treat. So, this year Anya had her joke all ready to go and all the neighbors thought it was hilarious that a 3 year old was telling jokes already. Take a look at the video to hear her joke:

In case you couldn’t quite make out what she is saying here it is: “Why did the ghost go to the dance? To see the Boogie Man!” (pretty cute huh?!)

It was such a beautiful night to be out and about and I think we all enjoyed the walk around the neighborhood. Josiah was as content as could be in the stroller watching all the action and Anya was taking in candy hand over fists….so everyone was happy.

Here are some pictures of the kids in their costumes and of our trick-or-treating fun!

Josiah had his 6 month appointment yesterday–and besides the shots, he did great! He weighed 17 lbs 10 oz and is 26.5 inches long! What a big boy! Well, actually, he is just below the 50th percentile for height and weight, but he looks roley poley…and that is just how I like my babies to look!! We took big sister Anya with to the appointment so she could get her flu shot also—after what we went through last year with influenza, we aren’t chancing it for this year. She wasn’t a big fan of the shot….but it was over before she even knew what had happened and was more upset by the thought that she just got a shot than she was by the shot itself.

It is a beautiful fall day outside…Jason & Anya are out swinging right now. We are heading to a pumpkin patch this afternoon, so I will be sure to post some pictures when we get back.

Today is Jason’s birthday…the big 33! We didn’t do anything too terribly exciting to celebrate. We had a nice dinner at home together and then did our favorite thing to do in the evenings….just be together. Anya and I made a birthday cake…actually besides me measuring out the oil and water and using the hand-blender at the end, Anya did all the work. It turned out great, daddy was very surprised and best of all….it was delicious!!

Here are a few pictures of the young baker at work!

Happy Birthday Jason….you are a great husband and the best daddy. We are such a lucky family!

We just wanted to let everyone know that starting tomorrow (October 24) we will no longer have a home phone. So, to get a hold of us, please call our cell phones. If you need our cell phone numbers, please either email one of us or leave a comment to this post and I will get the information to you!

Happy Thursday!

Sorry it has been awhile since I posted. It has been a combination of busy weekends, a bout of strep throat (for mommy) and an uncooperative computer. But, I am glad to report that everything seems to be back in usual, working order.

This last weekend we were down in Winfield for a visit. G’ma Jeryl, G’ma Bertie and Aunt Joni watched the kids for us while we went to the Hawkeye football game Saturday morning. It was a good day as the weather was beautiful and the Hawks won..couldn’t ask for much more than that! We had fun at the game and the kids loved spending time on the farm. Anya is still talking about everything she got to do: feeding the horses, petting G’ma Jeryl’s puppies, seeing one of Papa Ronnie’s baby pigs–the fun never ended! Needless to say, we were all tuckered out when we got home Sunday night and it was a pretty early night for all of us.

Here are some pictures of our weekend in Winfield. Now that my computer is back to working as it should, I will be blogging more frequently!

I got this from a “big-city” friend who likes to tease me because I am from Iowa. I thought it was pretty funny and had to post it:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE IOWAN WHEN:
1. “Vacation” means going east or west on I-80 for the weekend… or going to Adventureland.
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer – more than once.
4. You often switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day… and back again.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).
7. You see people wear bib overalls to funerals.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car… and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
10. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 5 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, road construction & DAMN HOT!
12. Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
13. You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.
14. Down South to you means Missouri.
15. East to you means Illinois.
16. A brat is something you eat.
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.
18. You go out to a tail gate party every Saturday.
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors because your fire works melted.
20. You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
21. You find -20 degrees F “a little chilly.”
22. You’ve never met any celebrities.
23. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.
24. You’ve seen all the biggest bands… ten years after they were popular.
25. Your school classes were canceled because of cold.
26. Your school classes were canceled because of heat.
27. You’ve ridden the school bus for an hour each way.
28. You think ethanol makes your truck “run a lot better.”
29. You know what’s knee-high by the Fourth of July.
30. Stores don’t have bags; they have sacks.
31. You install security lights on your house and garage – and leave both unlocked.
32. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it no matter what time of the year.
33. You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: “Where’s my coat at?”
34. All festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, or animal.
35. You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, Mt. Dew, and Jell-O with marshmallows.
36. You know what “cow tipping” and “snipe hunting” is.
37. You own only three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup.
38. You think everyone from a bigger city has an accent.
39. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.
40. The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page but requires 6 pages for sports.
41. You think deer season is a national holiday.
42. You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Iowa friends.

It is hard to believe our little man is 6 months old already! It is just crazy to think how much Josiah has changed in 6 short months. He seems to be changing by the day and learning, learning, learning faster than I can keep up. He is trying to master the unassisted sit, will roll over quite easily when he has had enough of tummy time and can put the death grip on anything that gets within his reach–usually Anya’s ponytail or my glasses!. He smiles non-stop but is somewhat stingy on his giggles—it truly has to be funny or he isn’t going to waste his energy laughing (he gets his discerning sense of humor from his dad). His favorite person in the world is his big sister and he loves to be rocked and sang to (again, like his dad). His hair is finally starting to fill in around his mohawk and some say it has a tinge of red to it.

Time has gone so fast, yet I can hardly remember what our life was like before he came.

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.
– Anonymous

I can’t believe it. I stayed up last night until about 11:30, hoping for an exciting comeback. They had put a few runners on, and given their fans a glimpse of hope. Sure, the score was 10-1 in the 9th, but they’d already scored a run to pull within 8, and they had runners on base. Just another bloop hit or 2, a couple of walks and a homerun, and it’s one of the greatest comebacks in Major League Baseball playoff history. Do the math, it could happen…it didn’t, and the Cubs were down 2-0 in a 5 game series. Again, do the math, one more loss, and the joy of the best Cubs season in my lifetime is over. 161 games, already tarnished by 2 playoff performances that reminded me of teams of the past–not this year’s Cubs.

It makes me wonder why I care so much about players I’ve never met, about a team 6 hours east of where I grew up. I had to look back this afternoon to see when I became a Cubs fan and it must have been 1982. I would have been 7 and Ryne Sandberg was in his first season as a Cub. I had a Cubs painters hat–the kind that was flat on top, and so did my best friend. I wore #23 and played 2nd base for our Little League team, just like Ryne. I was hooked early, I was a Cub. Jody Davis, Lee Smith, Keith Moreland, Andre Dawson. A little later, Mark Grace and Sammy Sosa. I remember listening to Tuffy Rhodes hit 3 home runs on Opening Day in 1994. I was in the back yard on our farm with a ball and a glove–playing catch by myself. I listened to quite a few of the games, this was before DirecTV. Since then, there has rarely been a season where I didn’t watch or listen to a majority of the 162 games played. My dad’s a Cub fan, my Grandpa was a Cub fan, my kids will be Cub fans – Anya already is and Josiah has 2 Cub onesies.

It’s been 100 years since a World Series pennant. I hope it’s not 101.