Back to Reality

We're back from our much too short vacation. When we were on the plane yesterday I felt like we'd just arrived in Florida! We had a wonderful time and packed a lot of fun into our few days there. A few favorite memories:

• Dairy Queen ice cream cake--we celebrated my sister's birthday and my birthday since it was about halfway in between the two.
• Swinging--we tried out several different playgrounds and Esther and Peter spent a lot of time on the swings.
• Bike riding--I went on a bike ride with my Dad, which I haven't done in several years. It was fun to do that again, and brought back good memories of our RAGBRAI rides across Iowa.
• Shells and sharks' teeth--we did some searching and brought back a few good souvenirs.
• Carcassonne--a favorite game for my mom, my sister and me. We played after the kids went to bed at night while the guys watched TV (and fell asleep).
• Relaxing--it was so nice to just get away and spend time together as a family.
• Tampa Airport--they had a play area right near our gate! It was a whole enclosed room with the cushy play things like they have at the malls. Of course it was all airport-themed--very cool! It entertained our kids for quite a while.

So, as quick as our trip was, we definitely made the most of it and have some good times to remember. We're already looking forward to next year...

Greetings from Florida!

Well, it's not all that warm and sunny down here in Florida, but it's definitely warmer and sunnier than in Michigan, so we're not complaining! We're on a quick winter get-away with my parents and sister on Manasota Key and we've been having lots of fun! We've walked on the beach, gone to the playground, and Esther even went swimming in the pool (brave Aunt Karen went in with her)! We also got to catch up with two of my cousins on Saturday night. It has been great to just relax, hang out together, and enjoy the break from winter weather. We're very thankful to have such wonderful grandparents who fly us down and host us for these visits. Unfortunately we have to go home already tomorrow, so this visit is much too short!

Chocolate Chip Pancakes and a Playdate

Casey has breakfast at Wolfgang's with a group of guys from church every Tuesday morning. This morning while lying in bed I heard him getting ready and then I heard that Esther was up too. A few minutes later I heard Casey leave and wondered where Esther was, since it wasn't likely that she'd gone back to bed! I got up to investigate and discovered a note that she had gone to breakfast with Daddy. She thought it was pretty cool to have breakfast with the guys, especially since she had chocolate chip pancakes!

Later we had friends over for a play date. Kris and I have been friends since 5th grade. Miss Lyzenga assigned us to do a project on the state of Kentucky together, and the rest is history. We survived middle school together, stuck with each other while other friendships came and went during high school, went to summer camp and on service projects together, and roomed together at four youth conventions. We went to different colleges, but kept up our friendship, and I even had a small part in hooking her up with her husband Rob! When we bought our first house, it was right down the street from their house. Now we've entered another stage of life, and I love experiencing parenthood with her and watching our children play together. Ally and Esther are good buddies, and I'm sure Jake and Peter will be too once they're old enough to figure out what that means. Friends like these are a true blessing!

Fun "Aunt" Jody

Tonight our good friend Jody came over for dinner and to hang out. We lived in the same dorm during our first 2 years at Calvin, we were Resident Assistants together, and then we were roommates during our senior year. We used to go out for breakfast every week or two, but somehow that went by the wayside after kids were born! Now she just comes over and we all hang out together. Here are just a few of the reasons why she is so special to us:

• She came over for dinner and was completely happy with the leftover pizza and bread sticks that we served.
• She has a great laugh, and she makes me laugh a lot.
• She gives excellent piggyback rides (to the kids, that is).
• She gets along really well with Casey, and teases him as much as he deserves.
• Peter and Esther just gravitate toward her because she's so fun and energetic.

It was a wonderful evening, and I wish we did it more often!

Donuts and Cookies

So today was Daddy Donut day, which was greatly missed while I was in CT last week. I now have to buy 3 donuts...Peter is no longer satisfied with Esther's scraps.

We also managed to make some cookies today. I decided to mix it up a little today and use white chocolate chips in half of the cookies....how come no one ever told me there is a chocolate chip that won't turn your little girl's clothes brown?? Amazing!

I've learned that Esther enjoys 2 steps the most in making cookies. 1. Breaking the egg into a bowl. 2. Using two spoons to put the dough on the cookie sheet. Every week I end up "fixing" her pile of dough on her cookie sheet so that we don't have one huge cookie. This week I decided to bake them "as-is"....after all they are her cookies! She just lets me help.

As you can see in the pictures....everything turned out OK. I'd say both children look pleased with the results!

Lessons from Baking with the Kids:

1. Why gently crack an egg when you can demolish the whole shell in one big bang on a bowl?

2. You can not make chocolate chip cookies without having a pile of chocolate chips in front of you the whole time you are making the dough....after all, a little girl gets hungry!

3. When opening a new bag of chocolate chips, it is only proper to each eat a handful to make sure they are good.

4. A one year old boy is NOT interested in baking cookies.

5. A one year old boy IS interested in eating the cookies his sister has made.

Snow Day!

I had a snow day today--no school! I'm not really sure why, as it was pretty much a normal Michigan winter weather event, but I'm not complaining! It was fun to have an unexpected day at home with the kids. After their naps this afternoon, Esther wanted to go outside. Here are the important details of our experience:

• The amount of time we spent getting bundled up and ready was about the same as the amount of time we spent outside.
• Peter tasted snow for the first time. I made sure he didn't eat any yellow snow.
• Esther didn't like it that the snow was coming down in her eyes as she made snow angels. I told her to close them, but that wasn't good enough, so I had to put my mitten over her eyes.
• Esther pulled Peter in the sled. She must be pretty strong considering the fact that she doesn't weigh much more than he does!
• They both think it's quite funny when I try to run in the snow while pulling them on the sled. The neighbors probably think it's funny too.

I think they would have stayed out there a lot longer, but it was getting to be dinner time. I'm sure we'll be back out tomorrow!

Peter's Favorite Pastimes

Peter is a very busy guy these days. He is into everything and always on the go. Here are a few of his current favorite activities:

• Taking my shoes off the shoe rack in our closet and throwing them into the bathtub
  
• Emptying out the Tupperware drawers
  
• Throwing his cup on the floor during mealtimes (multiple times)
  
• Choosing one of the Christmas card pictures that are in magnetized frames on our fridge and carrying it around the house
  
• Trying to play with whatever Esther is attempting to play with at the time
  
• Emptying everything out of my purse and wallet

Esther has also enjoyed the "empty the purse and wallet" game, so my smart Mom at one point created a play version. It is a purse with a wallet, comb, key chain, etc... inside, and the wallet contains a bunch of fake credit cards. They can pull everything out of there, and I don't have to worry about losing the stuff out of my purse. Casey is a little concerned about the fact that Peter is playing with a purse at all, but at this point it keeps him busy and that's all that matters!

The Rivalry

Today was the big Calvin-Hope basketball game. This is the first time in quite a few years that we have not actually gone to the game, and instead we watched it at home with some friends. We didn't watch as much of the game as we would have at the Calvin Fieldhouse (for some reason the 1, 2, and 5 year olds weren't that into it!), but is was fun to just hang out in our Calvin sweatshirts, eat munchies, and watch some good basketball. Even though Calvin lost, it was close throughout the game, and that's what makes it fun to watch. That's what makes it a good rivalry.

By the way, Esther's friend in this picture...her name is Hope! Ironic, isn't it?

Daddy's Home!

Casey has been in Connecticut since Monday for some training for his job. We had a really good week here at home, and he had a good week of training, but it sure is nice to have him home.

Peter didn't know what we were doing at the airport tonight, but he sure had fun blowing raspberries at the lady sitting next to us while we were waiting! Meanwhile, Esther kept watching for Daddy to come down the concourse. When she saw him, she very excitedly went running to him yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!!" It made me smile. I think it made a few other people in the airport smile too.

This is the souvenir he bought for Esther--a lobster in a purse! Too cute.

Little Cleaning Lady

Esther is kind of particular about certain things. She likes things to be in the right place, and she likes things to be clean. I can't imagine where these tendencies came from! Lately she has been getting a dustcloth out and cleaning the TV screen or other things around the house. Today she decided she needed to clean the floors. She got the Swiffer out and proceeded to "clean" the kitchen floor, some walls, the front of the dishwasher and a coffee table. We're thinking maybe she'd like to start a service and earn some money!

Daddy Donut Day

Casey is a really fun Dad. Prime example: every Thursday morning at our house is Daddy Donut Day. Casey stays home with the kids for 1/2 day while I work, which I think is very special. The first Thursday he stayed home back in August, they went to Cafe on the Corner for donuts. It is now a tradition, and if you ask Esther what Thursday is, she will respond, "Daddy Donut Day!" She will also tell you how every week she gets a chocolate covered donut, eats the chocolate off the donut, and then gives the cake donut part to Peter to eat. He seems just fine with this, so it's a win-win situation all around.

At some point during the fall, another Thursday morning tradition began. Casey decided to bake cookies with Esther during Peter's nap (after the donut eating), and now she insists on it every week. She has gradually become more and more involved in the process, and as you can see from the pictures, she very much enjoys making the cookies (while eating chocolate chips) and eating the finished product!

I love the memories that Casey is creating for our children...