A Noteworthy Saturday

Happy 85th birthday to my grandma! The kids love singing Happy Birthday, so they didn't argue with me when I asked them to sing for the camera. We didn't get to spend the day with her, though we did get to celebrate with her back in June while visiting in Illinois.



Overall, it was a quite enjoyable Saturday. Ryan was feeling much better after being out of commission for most of the week with strep throat. We got up for breakfast and Abby wasn't fond of having to stand while I got the eggs ready. So she turned the tables and told me what should happen from my perspective. She stood, arms outstretched, and said, "momma, YOU NEED ME!" Who could resist?

Later, while she and Stephen were roughhousing in his room, he tackled her and she got pinned up against his bed. As I rounded the corner to see what they were doing, I heard her say, "Oh no!! Stephen broke my head!" (I don't think there is even a bruise.)

We headed to Kohl's to spend our $10 off anything $10 or more card. Get those in the mail? They're great. We found a firm pillow that was marked down to $8.99, but we still needed $1.01 to get to our minimum. Godiva chocolate? Maybe, at $2.95. But then I found a candle for $1.99. Perfect. Ryan stood in line to "pay" for our purchase. The sales clerk asked him, "Are you just buying the candle so you can get the pillow for free?" "Yep!" he replied. See, we didn't have to even act sneaky about it!

Though I would prefer to swim in the mornings, most pools don't open until after noon. And since Lackland's pools aren't great for kids, and Seaworld is to be avoided on Saturdays, we drove over to the army post on the other side of town and tried out their aquatic center. The kids are gradually becoming more comfortable in the water, and we even ventured into the regular pool after playing in the kiddie pool for awhile.

That wore the kids out, and after a burger dinner and a skype date to wish "uncle" Peter a happy birthday, the kids needed a rinse. Stephen took his bath, and then went to bed. I didn't drain the water right away, and when Abby was standing outside the tub with me, she took a dive in - fully clothed! That sure scared her, and I'm sure didn't help with her fear of water.

(Side note - Pete turned 60, and after we sang to him, Stephen said "pretty soon you're going to be 70!" Silly kids' books start counting by 10 after they get to 20 ...)

I've been feeling the baby moving, and Ryan has even been able to feel some kicks from the outside a few times. Makes me wonder if this little guy/girl is going to be pretty active.

A Slice of Life with Stephen

Yes, we have a 4-year-old.

And he picked out the glasses himself. With the 10 dollars he was given and told to spend at the Dollar Tree. He also got some number magnets for the fridge and some letter vinyl stickers for the sliding glass door.

Because of the distance from family, we celebrated with Ryan's family early in June, with my parents July 4th weekend, with Emily the day before his birthday, and for his actual birthday dinner had one of the kids' favorite people (Brian) over for a pizza dinner.

And because I thought it would be fun, I wanted to share a few of Stephen's more interesting moments from recent weeks ...

Thanks to Ryan, Stephen now knows a few knock-knock jokes, which he loves telling to Abby in particular. The other night, he started making up his own. They went like this:

Knock-knock
Who's there?
Banana
Banana who?
Banana rain.

Knock-knock
Who's there?
Pillow
Pillow who?
Pillow pretzel.

And he wonders why I call him "goofball" instead of "Stephen" sometimes.

He continues to love music and surprised me by knowing all the lyrics to How Deep the Father's Love for Us (which I sing to Abby before bed). I even recorded it--listen here for yourself. I really like this song--so much so that it was performed at our wedding.

He misses music class. It doesn't continue through the summer, but he will hopefully be in the 4-year-old class this fall. Last Monday he began a gym class. It's definitely not his forte, but I think it'll really help him with some of his confidence in trying new activities.


He continues to play fairly well with his little sister, Abby. Lucky for him, she's a tough girl who can handle his roughhousing. Last night he made up a new game. He would pretend that we left Abby at HEB and then we would go look for her. She loved pretending that our house was a grocery store, so she played along very well.

Though he just had a birthday, he is looking forward to his next one. He regularly tells me about his future birthday cakes. It goes like this: "And after I am 4, I think I will be 5. And on my cake I want it to say 'STEPHEN 5.' And after I am 5, I think I will be 6. And on my cake I want it to say 'STEPHEN 6.'" And on he goes ... I think we've gotten all the way to when he turns 30. But he's not the one turning 30 anytime soon. That honor belongs to his daddy.

Oops, let's start with Abby's birthday

At least I have an excuse. And that excuse was the first trimester.

I never did get much up for Abby's birthday, and now Stephen's had his, and, well, I'm still sitting on a few of Abby's thank you notes. Sigh.

So here goes.

Abby's 2nd birthday will always be remembered for 2 things: crayons and elmo cake pops.

We celebrated with the Texas contingent of the family and a few friends for brunch in the morning. This is when the crayon blessings began. Abby is now the proud owner of a crayon case, a crayon carousel, and a crayon box. I think we've only actually gotten out 1/3 of them, but since most of them are already broken, I think it's time to pull out some more.

Ever since I learned about Sesame Street Cake Pops, I really wanted to make some for Abby's birthday. I knew it would be a lot of work, but I think she loved them as did our friends who got to try some. It was lots of work, and I was thankful to have Yvette and my mom to put them together with me.

We enjoyed them on Sunday evening (the 25th) with our church family. A few pictures to enjoy:


Ready to go!

Yvette working her magic - writing the pupils for the eyes on the m&ms with edible markers.

Photos from this week

Goodbye, Des Moines!

Status Updates that Were Not Posted in the Past Four Weeks

Why must my neighborhood have so many speed bumps?

At 1 a.m., surely while asleep, I asked Ryan if he had any iphone apps that would make suckers. Because I thought Abby would want one.

I had a dream that I played a concerto with an orchestra at a festival in the middle of nowhere. But had no recollection of how the performance went.

I'm so thankful for all the Mexican food available in San Antonio. Yum.

Lisa wishes Stephen would keep his elbows off mommy's tummy.

Cake pops. Yuck.

Why doesn't Dana live in Texas?

Needs. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. Now.

Had a dream that door-to-door salesmen had a new strategy: Ring the doorbell at 3 a.m. That way you're guaranteed to be home.

Husband boxers = maternity shorts for around the house!

Lisa wonders if we'll get another deduction for 2010.

Yes, there are leftovers in the house, but it was very important to send Ryan out at 10 p.m. for a gyro and stuffed grape leaves.

Let's play "describe Lisa in one word." I'll go first: tired.

Frustrating Morning

It's a beautiful day here - 70s and sunny - and yet life has just been slightly inconvenient. Nothing worth making a big deal out of ... But my grandma reads this weblog. And my grandma will care. :)

This morning, I headed downtown to the natatorium for swimming lesson sign-up. They have this one sign-up for the whole city, regardless of the pool where you'll take lessons. Now we live on the far west side, and we don't just "stop by" downtown. But there's a pool around the corner from our house and that's where I'm planning to take Stephen this summer.

I got there and was handed #60 and told to wait for my turn. About an hour later, and they were only to #25. I overheard someone talking about them not taking out-of-town checks, so I inquired and found that indeed, even if my drivers license is local, they would not take a check that was imprinted with "IL."

So I left to find an ATM. There was a Walgreens about a mile away and that would work. I got out of the car to go in, and found that it was closed due to a burglary they'd had overnight. So up the road to the next one. Finally I made it back to the pool with my $40 in hand and I went to wait. They were almost to #60.

When I told them the pool that I wanted to sign up for, they said, "oh we aren't taking registrations for that pool right now." It would have been helpful to note that on their website (or at the very least a sign at check-in), where they clearly stated that they WERE taking registrations for our pool. All I got was a "sorry."

A little teary out of sheer frustration and a little emotional these days anyway, I hopped back in the car and drove home, where we were planning to go to a garage sale auction that was selling a kitchen table to the highest bidder at noon.

We've been keeping our eyes out for a sturdy 6-person table with 6 chairs included ever since we moved here. A few months ago, a friend offered us a table (for free) as soon as her other friend was done with it. So we stopped looking. Then found out this week that her other friend wanted to keep it after all. Which is fine, I suppose. So we're looking again and this table at the garage sale fit the bill. But when we got there at 11:45, they seemed to have sold it to someone early and had closed up shop. So we went to wal-mart, bought some light bulbs and said hello to the fish.

Now I think I'll take a nap. Birthday party later ... that CAN'T go wrong, can it?

What a 2-year-old apparently does for fun

We'll have to get out of order here a little as I just need a little time to put a birthday post together for Abby. I had gotten some feedback that friends and family enjoyed seeing some daily shots of what the kids and I are up to.

Of course we had our crazy birthday weekend. And Abby now tells you that she is "two." This week, we FINALLY did a bus ride to downtown. Sure enough, it was terribly complicated and we ended up having to do a transfer on the way back to get to our van even though we rode the same route back. I don't know if it was worth it in the long run, though it was nice not to navigate the streets and ramps downtown.

I'll let the pictures take it from here.


By a plane small enough that you can see the plane and not just the wheels when taking a photo of him!


Yes, there were airplanes everywhere but that doesn't compare to pipes that are "puh-pul."

I thought this was such a sweet photo. She would love to be in music class herself, but instead she just gets to observe her big brother.

Here we are at some fountains by the Tower of the Americas. I imagine this will be really nice (and crowded) in the heat of the summer.


Abby was eating a snack and when she saw some kids eating lunch, she wanted to join them.

At a park that we've been meaning to go to for awhile. It was nice for the kids to run around in (similar to meadowbrook in Urbana). But there were over 100 kids there for a field trip. It was a nightmare to keep track of my 2!

A Week in Photos, thanks to the phone ...

For those of you who are just curious what we're up to, here are some snapshots from everyday life during the past week.

Here is Abby giving Boz the Bear some of Stephen's smoothie.

And here is Stephen separating the dough to make rolls. He's always grateful for a little bite when he's helping in the kitchen.

Here is Abby perched in her favorite kitchen cupboard. She sometimes sits there and waits for us to come find her.

The two of us, just an hour after our 10K on Sunday.

The photo I took of myself after the race on Saturday. What I didn't know at the time was that Ryan was still running ... he finished behind me even though his time was 7 minutes faster than mine. This was due to a miscommunication at the starting line. He started 18 minutes after the race actually started; mom and I began about 7 minutes into it. For more race photos, you can search for our results and then click on the camera icon.

Here is mom standing on the bridge that marked the beginning of the race.

We wouldn't have gotten anywhere with this one in the drivers' seat.

Fun at the kids' event on base last Saturday.

Stephen likes to create these photos ... he gets to choose a border and a special character. If you want, we can make one for you!!

Abby now has a puh-pul sand pail and she also loves Big Bird. Thus, the photo.

Just wanted to include this because this ensemble was her choice. She put the hat on herself and chose the mismatched socks and asked me to put them on her. She also has a fetish with having sippy cups always at her disposal.

At the Witte Museum's free evening last week. The kids enjoyed walking around, but they didn't quite understand the exhibits yet.

Let's hear it for Seaworld passes ...

With Seaworld less than 3 miles from our house, we would be a little crazy not to take advantage of the fun. Sometimes we take the whole day to be there, but more and more we're figuring out how to take it in a little at a time.

Today's outing was the Sesame Street show: "Big Bird's Beach Party." After the kids rested this afternoon, the 3 of us loaded up in the van and we drove over. Ryan couldn't make it--the only show today was at 4:45 and he wouldn't make it in time after work.

If you know Abby at all, you know that she loves Elmo. And Big Bird ("bird"). And Cookie Monster ("monsers"). And Oscar ("ahk sa"). And Snuffy ("nuffy").

She was star struck. And Stephen didn't have a bad time either.

Must be a cold front

1:46, CST

Shorewood, IL: 80° F
Des Moines, IA: 81° F
Urbana, IL: 79° F
San Antonio, TX: 77° F

She's Half His Age

Today is February 20 and Abby is 4 days shy of 22 months. Which is exactly how old Stephen was when Abby was born.

We're not really "celebrating" but I have been mentally noting it, and thinking back to the trucks that excited Stephen at that time, and how pushing the button and riding an elevator was so momentous.

Last night, my friend Carrie from high school youth group came into town. She lives in Austin now, and I've seen her twice now since living here. We took the kids to the Japanese tea garden near downtown and it was truly beautiful! I think I'll go back sometime without the kids--or at least when Stephen isn't having "accidents" on a regular basis.

We then had a light dinner at The Cove and then brought the kids home to put them to bed. We had such a great time catching up and even reminiscing about old times. Photos were brought out and there was laughter. :)

This morning we celebrated Elmo's birthday at Borders. Yes, that really is Abby sitting on an Elmo book that she found on the shelves.


I'm excited that dinner tonight as well as dinner tomorrow is going to be messing up someone else's kitchen ... thanks, Tina and Patti! Don't worry -- I'll remember the food I'm supposed to bring.

An Accident of a Different Nature

Some of you may know that we're finally taking the step of toilet independence for Stephen. The days of "when he shows an interest" or "when he asks to go" are over, as he will be four in June and we're just done with diapers (for him at least). Last Tuesday we told him that he didn't wear diapers any more and we put them all in Abby's room.

It's been a challenging week but we've stuck to it and I'm finally seeing some improvement.

I have been proudly sharing that he's had an accident-free day -- which he has! But he also hasn't gone #2 very much since the whole process started, and I'm beginning to think that my child, who has never been constipated in his life, might be holding it in a little too much.

So I looked up some information online (because where else can you find reliable medical information :)?) and there were the usual suggestions of prune juice and fruit, the latter of which he is already eating quite a bit of. Then I saw that popcorn can do it. And the boy loves popcorn. So I set out to make a batch in the Stir Crazy. He was thrilled and stood on a stool to watch the kernels transform from yellow to puffs of white.

So I need to back up here and say that Ryan is the popcorn master in this house. He waits until it is just popped, then turns it off and immediately removes the popcorn from the heat source so it doesn't burn. Then he butters it and flavors with salt and pepper.

I tried to be as deft as he is, quickly maneuvering the hot equipment.

But I failed miserably. I did manage to keep it away from Stephen, but after I picked up the base with the popcorn on it, my fingers reacted to the heat and threw it to the ground. This broke the edge of the maker in several places and I doubt it will function properly any more. I will have to break the news to Ryan soon, if he doesn't hear it first from someone else.

Think Stir Crazy gives replacements for potty-training-related accidents?

Meal Planning

I've been planning meals tonight. My kids are, well, kids. They'll eat some of what I cook but not all. My husband eats it all, even when it's something he doesn't like. But I do try to cook food that he likes for the most part.

Just for fun, I decided to come up with a list of 5 recipes that I will never make for Ryan. Cuz he just wouldn't 'preciate it. But maybe you would! Take a look ...

1. Chicken Salad on Cantaloupe Rings

2. Rangooni Vaal Nu Shaak

3. Papillotes meli-melo: Mixed fruits with honey, raisins, pistachios and coconut

4. Aspen Carrot Cake with Raisins and Cream Cheese frosting

5. Soy Banana Tapioca Pudding

He's not very picky. It was hard to find these recipes! (If viewing in facebook, click on "see original."

2009 A to Z

What a year 2009 has been! We ushered it in from a hotel room in Bloomington, IL, where Ryan was performing at a New Year’s Eve party. That was before Ryan was even offered the job in San Antonio. And now we’re polishing it off with a gig in San Antonio.

Both Stephen (3.5) and Abby (1.5), in their age-appropriate ways, LOVE the English alphabet. Their favorite form of reciting and hearing it is Dr. Seuss’s ABC book, though they love many other forms. So we thought it was fitting to give you a rundown of our 2009 year, A-B-C style. It's completely out of order chronologically.

We settled for the most obvious choice for A: the United States Air Force. Ryan was offered a position in the Band of the West that’s stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. We packed up in Urbana, IL, this summer and drove the 17 hours southwest to our new city. We settled into our temporary housing in the midst of a streak of 42 days where temperatures reached over 100 degrees.

From a chance encounter with another mother at a park, I learned that Thomas the Tank Engine was coming to Texas! We knew Stephen would love the chance to ride on Thomas, so we bought tickets for him and Ryan to take the 20-minute ride in Burnet, TX, pulled by the Thomas engine. The rain could have ruined it for us, but Stephen took it all in stride and grinned from ear to ear as he stepped aboard. Also in this excursion: a meet-and-greet with Sir Topham Hatt.

We know there is a lot of stigma associated with “meeting people on the internet,” but we are so glad we did! A few times this past year, we typed “San Antonio house church” into a search engine, found an old post on city-data.com, and that’s how we’ve met many of our new friends, including a group of people that we’ve begun to meet with regularly.

Drip drop 110. We don’t know what it means either. Ask Stephen.

Evelyn Blane was a close friend of our family’s, from our days in Peoria, IL. She had been battling cancer for over a year, and this July we said goodbye to her. We’re thankful that the kids and Lisa had been able to see her in June when we were on our way to Iowa. We also said goodbye to Lisa’s Great-Aunt Gerda this spring.

For the first time since October of 2005, Lisa is neither pregnant nor nursing. We took advantage of this time to spend an extended period of time together, leaving both children with Lisa’s parents. We stayed in both downtown San Antonio and Port Aransas, dining in a variety of restaurants that ran the gamut from McDonald’s to The Chart House in the Tower of the Americas. One of the more special establishments was Fossati’s in Victoria, Texas, heralded as the oldest deli in Texas, and still owned by the original family.

With home ownership (more on that later) comes home improvement projects, and Ryan is determined to tackle as many of them on our own as we can. One of the more challenging ones was a Genie garage door opener that he and our friend Adam installed one day in September. We’re thankful for friends like Adam and Brian, who fastened many a bolt on the shed we put outside our back door. (They don’t seem to mind the meals Lisa cooks for them while they’re over here working.)

A project that was out of our control was the disconnect box on the furnace. When the temperatures started dropping, we turned on the heat, and discovered that it only worked for a few minutes. (It had been tested during the inspection, but this was not caught.) An HVAC specialist, an electrician, and a chilly night later, we had a working furnace again.

When we first moved to San Antonio, we lived in temporary housing for a month. This meant hours and hours of time for Lisa to occupy the 2 kids in a) a small hotel suite and b) the 100-degree heat. We did a little of both. Stephen took note of the many trainees walking around and shouting “1-2-3-4” as they marched. They must have been a little inarticulate, because what he heard and repeated with all the strength he could muster, while marching himself, was this: “I-O-I-O.” He did this in the most choice locations: the middle of the commissary aisle – the sidewalk in front of the fitness facility. At least he’s only 3.

Long before we took the kids and Lisa’s parents and sister to Sea World for the first time, Stephen had been enamored with the roller coasters. He saw them from a distance and thought they were the neatest trains he had ever seen. He wanted to go on them. And lucky for him (and us), they do have a kiddie coaster, Shamu Express. Which he went on. Five times. But that didn’t satisfy him. He wanted to go on a way-up-higher roller coaster. Because he is so tall for a 3-year-old, he just cleared the height requirement for a combination water ride/roller coaster, the Journey to Atlantis. We both went on it with him, putting him between us, and hoping that he wouldn’t be too terrorized. He handled it extremely well, not crying at all after the drop was over. But this was how we knew it had pushed his limits: He refused to go on it again.

We did it. We bought a house. And all the lovely benefits and drawbacks that go along with it. We’re enjoying our ranch-style home on the corner of Kinderhook and St. Lawrence St. in San Antonio.

One of our criteria for a home to buy was that it was free of lead-based paint. We learned the hard way that a little girl doesn’t have to chew on windowsills to have lead poisoning. Our sweet 10-month-old Abby was found to have a level of 15 micrograms per deciliter. (A safe level is 0, but under 3 isn’t considered cause for alarm. Levels in the 20s can cause permanent brain damage.) We’re thankful that it was discovered when it was, and we wiped down the offending areas of the home and our landlords (who hadn’t disclosed the paint and could be in big trouble if we decided to sue) took care of the chipping paint, making it possible for us to finish up our year’s lease before leaving at the end of July. (Two months later Abby's level was way down. Yay!)

Stephen is growing up, and with that comes special events, such as his first movie in the theater. Ryan took him to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and said he was transfixed the entire time. Now he regularly asks me to read him the story since we have it as a picture book.

New Years’ Eve. The usual. Ryan is playing a gig and Lisa is home with the kids. But home beats a hotel room, curled up in the bathroom so as not to wake the kids.

Since before we were even dating, Lisa drove a champagne-colored Oldsmobile, which was inherited from her Grandma Doris. It was the only car Stephen had really known us to have, and to this day, he calls it “Our Car,” (please note the capital O and C). How ironic, then, that the day it chose to die on us was his third birthday. Ryan was away at basic training with literally no way to be reached. Lisa had to write him a letter, which he received over a week later. We were more than thankful for a car to borrow for the rest of the time that we were in the Midwest. Thanks, Great Grandma Fay! Since we’ve been in Texas, we’ve purchased two vehicles: a Nissan Sentra and a Dodge Grand Caravan. Neither one would win a drag race, but they get us from point A to point B, and in a big city in a big state, that’s rather important.

Stephen really understood his birthday this year, and we wanted to have some fun parties for him. But what we did not understand was the logic behind his somewhat strange requests. When we celebrated with Lisa’s side of the family, we asked him what kind of cake he wanted. “Blue cake,” was his only response, and he was consistent. We tried offering different kinds of cakes, but he just wanted a blue cake. Grandma Lindstrom came through and he was thrilled. Then it was on to the Leatherman side of the family, only this time the request was also specific, “Green cake.” And that’s exactly what he got, frosting and inside included (thanks Aunt Care). By the way, he highly recommends birthday parties to everyone.

Near our house is a duck pond and playground that we frequent. And one of Abby’s first animal sounds was “quack quack.” I still don’t think I’ve ever heard her actually say “duck.” She just speaks their language.

You might believe that recycling is a good aspiration. But our worlds were turned upside down this summer when Ryan endured the Air Force Basic Military Training Program. For 8 weeks, we both feared the worst: that he would be recycled—that’s the term they use—and have to spend another week or more stuck in training. We were both very relieved when he graduated on time and our move proceeded without any major hitches.

We all got a special treat in early December when Susan, Ryan’s mom, came down for almost 2 weeks to spend time with all of us. An 8-day trip turned into 11 when the blizzard in Des Moines made travel practically impossible. I don’t think any of us minded having her here a little extra time, and the memories made going to Sea World, riding the miniature train, and reading book after book after book will last for a lifetime.

Lisa wasn’t the only ‘Lorimor’ girl who moved this summer. Emily moved into a beautiful historic home in Temple, TX, making the drive to see her at right about 3 hours. Heather and Marc-Andre crossed back over the Atlantic and now live on New York’s Long Island. Heidi stayed put at Bucknell in Pennsylvania, but Anthony finished up at Princeton and moved to Penn State, making their 2 jobs only about an hour apart. Ryan’s brother John is a junior at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. We look forward to seeing everyone in our families this summer. That’s the plan, anyway!

It was probably more fun for Lisa than it was for Abby, but she seemed to enjoy it, too. We enrolled her in a kiddie swim class at Urbana’s Indoor Pool. She became comfortable with getting her head wet and enjoyed some one-on-one time with mommy.

Maybe somebody filled me in on how life would change with kids and I wasn’t listening. I no longer watch the TV I’m interested in (which is fine) or listen to the music that I would choose. We tool around town listening mostly to a Bible Verses A to Z CD. It’s Stephen’s top pick, though we also rotate a B-I-N-G-O CD and Down by the Bay.

After settling in to our house and knowing that our trip at the end of December was imminent, Lisa set out to wean Abby. It was challenging but we made it. She’s increasing daily the number of foods and amount of it that she is willing to consume. All by herself with a spoon and fork, nonetheless. (We’re still working on that with Stephen.)

In the spring, Ryan fell off his bike, spraining his wrist. We were thankful that he didn’t break it and that it didn’t affect his eligibility to ship out for basic training in May. Abby felt the need to follow suit and fell on a single stair at a friend’s house in November. We hoped that it was just a simple twist, but the x-ray the following morning revealed a break in her first metatarsal (bone extending from ankle to big toe). She hobbled around in a cast for 3 weeks and at her check-up it had healed perfectly!

Our friend Yvette treated Lisa to an afternoon at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Many roller coaster rides were taken and a fun afternoon is always appreciated by a mom-of-toddlers.

Stephen’s music class has been the highlight of his fall. He and seven other three-year-old boys and girls, including one of his favorite people, Zane, dance, sing, and learn a bit while having a ton of fun.

Don’t expect another A to Z list in 2010. I’m sure the kids will be into something entirely different.

Tourists in Our Own Backyard

While Susan was here, we were San Antonio tourists a little more than we normally are. We walked on the Riverwalk and enjoyed lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.


Stephen and Susan rode the zoo train while Abby and I stayed behind. (She'd get bored real quick and want to get off.)


Stephen showed Susan around Seaworld. They rode the roller coaster, saw Shamu, and greeted dolphins and horses. They also got to watch a Sesame Street production that we refer to at our house as "The Elmo Show." It was actually really cold that day, but we went anyway because it was our only chance. Abby went for the first couple of hours and rode the teacup ride once in the same cup as mommy.

Abby's New Kitchen

Aunt Heather gave Abby a toy kitchen, which she loves playing with. Here are some pictures. Some activities we've shown her directly, but many she just imitates from watching me in the kitchen! Stephen loves it too, but we have to make sure he doesn't take over and push her out of the way.





Thanks, Heather!

Grandma Susan's Visit

We bought Ryan's mom's tickets to come down to Texas a couple months ago and the day she was scheduled to leave was the day that Des Moines was practically shut down due to the blizzard. So she extended her trip and now is staying until Saturday! It's been so great for me to have adult company during the day and help with the kids. They love love love playing with grandma, and she really enjoys it, too.

I will have quite a few posts coming up to cover the various activities we've done, so you can look forward to:

• Abby's new kitchen
• Stephen's music class
• the miniature train ride
• Seaworld
• The Riverwalk
• Cooking with pears

For now, here are some fun photos we have shot over the past week.

Abby, right before we went to the hospital to get her cast removed.

Ryan just had to take this photo of the great San Antonio blizzard of 2009.

Giving Stephen a hair cut. Normally daddy does this.


Susan wanted to get a family photo. Guess which half of the family wanted to cooperate!


A new poster Stephen got from grandma. He asked if he could have it on his door.

Ryan is still in Georgia where he is filling in for an empty seat in another AF band. We miss him, but it's only a 3-day trip, so it's not too bad. Though as soon as he gets back, he is tied up with the local concerts. I'm going on Monday and can hardly wait!