Happy New Year!

Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme

With weather this nice, it's SLEDDING time. (You want to watch Cool Runnings now, you know it!)

The last two days are why God made winter. What a delight! And what a delight to be able to be home with the girls and enjoy it! As we looked ahead to the cold weather that is already making the temps drop, we spent as much time as we could outside the last couple days. Soaking in the sun and the winter fun.

Fiona became a sled master last winter (head first, baby!) and couldn't wait to hit the slopes yesterday. We have a perfect little hill just a couple blocks from our house, down into the junior high football field. Quinn took a [very needed] long nap yesterday, so I sent the two bigs to the hill and Q, Yogi, and I met them a bit later.

As with everything, Quinny took a while to warm up to a new experience. She didn't cry her first time down with Daddy, but she didn't smile. By the end of the day, she was asking for "more." Today, she got super brave and even went down a few times by herself (head first, baby!). We also finally finished the snowman in our yard today. He is perfectly Buggy size. We finished the day with a cup of cocoa and marshmallows.

We'll take more of these days ... please!

Haircuts

We finally decided today that clearly Quinn's hair was not going to grow out and back. It was going to stay in her face and make her look like a Beatle. When she entertained Bugs this morning by shaking her shaggy head, it became clear it was time for a haircut.

Bugs and I have been struggling after bath to comb all the tangles out of her long long curls. So we decided as long as we were heading to Great Clips, we'd make it a two for!

Both girls were really nervous. Bugs was convinced it would hurt (it did not) and Q just hates strangers touching her (see Santa picture for reference). So they were lined up so Bugs could see me and I kept my hand on Q's leg. She was okay as long as the stylist did not put the cape on her. That was unacceptable. Bugs perked up once a "good job" sucker appeared.

Fiona's hair is just a bit shorter, but is even (!) and layered so those curls really pop. Quinn's is even and it frames her face. She's still shaggy (I really don't want to cut bangs if we can avoid it) but doesn't look like a Beatle anymore. Just in time for a Christmas picture where they both look at the camera at the same time ... maybe ...

The Things You Overhear

Just a few of the things we've overheard in the past few days:

Quinn has "the pink eye."
So Fiona asked, "Mommy, if Quinny has pink eyes, why are they still blue?"

From the bathroom last night:
M: Wow, Bugs. That's a messy diaper.
F: Yeah, lots of poopies.
M: Oooops. Uh oh. We need to clean the wall too before Mom comes in here.

From the dinner table:
F: Mom, does my milk have my poop medicine in it?

While playing Memory:
S: Bugs, you only get to turn two cards over during your turn.
F: But I can't member where the hot dog is. So I have to turn over more.
S: That's why it's called Memory. Because you have to remember.
F: No, Mom. That's not it.

Killing time while Bugs went potty:
S: Bugs, what's your big name?
F: Fiona Grace.
S: Good job. What's Quinny's big name?
F: Quinny Bot.
S: No. What's Quinn's real big name?
F: Quinn Bota Bota Boo.
S: I think it's Quinn Scarlett.
F: Oh Mom.

So Big!

New chair

 We didn't approve it, but the girls continue their quest to grow up. They are getting so big!

This morning, the girls (mostly Fiona) helped me turn over Q's dresser drawer. A couple weeks ago, it was officially time for Quinn to graduate to 18 month clothes (you know, since she is 16 months tomorrow ... the fact that I got an extra 4 months out the 12 month clothes is awesome!). But that bin was in the rafters of the garage. And it's been awfully cold! So to push her procrastinating parents, Q hit the mother of growth spurts! And those 12 month pants have become capris ... and a lot of leg was showing. We celebrated today by wearing pants that were long enough AND a shirt with sleeves long enough.

Disney!

Mike was out running errands while the girls and I updated the wardrobe options. He came home with a new booster chair for Q - because she wants nothing more than to sit at the table like the rest of us. And the bitty tray on her existing one was a bummer for plate size and art projects. She's totally in love with her new seat and is glad that her daddy finally overruled her cheap mommy and just bought the chair!

After nap today, we took both girls to Disney on Ice. We had few expectations and figured we'd just see how it went. They both loved it (although, like the hockey game, Fiona thought it was too loud) and did really well. Quinn got squirrelly a couple times, but she made it. Fiona was completely entranced the entire time. She was really nervous, but also super excited. When she got to clap to help save Tinkerbell, it was magical. And her grin at the end of the show was worth all the slow traffic that we had to deal with on the way home.

Operation Jolly Man

On the holiday to-do list ... visit Santa. Sounds benign enough. Except no one in the V family is particularly known for their patience, love of lines, or general willingness to "hang out" endlessly while plodding forward one family at a time. So we have to carefully time our visit to the big guy - to avoid people and overall merriment. Really - we like Christmas. Just from the comfort of our own home.

The best plan we've come up with is that Mike picks up the girls early and hauls it up to the mall by where I work. I meet them there. And we squeeze in before Santa's dinner break from 5-6pm. We don't want to be in the line for Santa's return at 6. We've learned that! But Mike's work schedule has been crazy the last couple weeks. So getting home early to get the girls early was a bit difficult.

We made a tentative date for tonight with a Plan B to try again tomorrow. At 3:45 today, Mike sent me a text that said "Operation Jolly Man is in effect." We probably watch too many spy shows. But I love that he gave it a code name! That's my guy! We made it just. in. time. Like they were closing the entrance to the line so that Santa could really be done at 5:00. The girls and I looked desperate and they let us in. The line went so quickly that they let a couple more families in too.

Fiona really enjoyed seeing Santa this year. She told him what she wanted, had a nice chat with him, and give him a hug (all on her own) when we were done. Quinn ... well, see for yourself what she thought of the whole thing.

Snow Day

Before it got "pull the covers over your head until the hot cocoa is ready" cold, it snowed. And it was glorious out. The girls came home from day care all geared up (they had been outside), dinner was in the crockpot, and fresh snow beckoned as the sun set. What else were we to do!?!

Fiona got out her trusty pink shovel and *helped* Mike clear out the last bit of the driveway. Quinny tromped around in the snow until she decided it's just too much work. Fiona made a beautiful snow angel and we applauded her. Quinn thought it looked like fun to be clapped for - so dropped down to make an angel too. Only she laid on her tummy instead of her back and looked a bit like a beached whale - especially when she tried to get up. But we clapped for her all the same ... so she did it a couple more times!

They really wanted to go outside today (thank goodness for the ball pit in the basement to get the wiggles out), but it was too cold. Fiona chose [poorly] not to nap, so was pretty tired tonight. She and I beat the bedtime grumpies by snuggling on the couch and reading books. We read The Mitten, The Polar Express, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We were both in heaven! She may not be into movies yet, but give the girl a book and a snuggle and she's as snug as a Bug!

The Blondes Decorate

She was loving the nativity, so I got out the Christmas Story book.
All worked well until the book and angel collided and the angel did not fly.
Dad and super glue to the rescue.

They were super helpers and LOVED decorating.
The tree has a high concentration of ornaments in the lowest quadrant.

Nothing to do with Christmas, but super cute!

We're Wild

We have a semi-tradition. It seems that when the Wild are in town the day after Thanksgiving, we go to the game. We went two years ago when Fiona was this big. And yesterday, we went again. The girls had such a good time. And because it was a 5:00 game, we actually got to stay longer than a period. That's a new family record. Woo-hoo!

Fiona, who usually LOVES hockey games, was a bit overwhelmed by the noise of it all. She spent most of the game with her hands over her ears. But she smiled a lot and insisted she was having a good time. It was just "too loud." She did not, however, like the Sasquatch (beef jerky mascot). We had a little chat, and this morning she was very clear that it was "a daddy in a mask," but she seemed unwilling to let that comfort her at the game.

Quinn, who is usually indifferent to hockey and unimpressed by the noise, loved all of it. The noise, the clapping, the hard rock music, the Sasquatch, people to flirt with ... a pile of Quinn magic. She decided that preferred sitting on Daddy's lap and that the best hockey food was mini donut dipped in nacho cheese. The funniest part, to me anyway, was when a fight broke out in front of us at the net. Fiona cowered into Grammy while Quinn nearly jumped off Mike's lap in excitement.

Our girls are individuals, that's for sure. But we had a great time seeing how much fun they had. They behaved wonderfully and made it a very enjoyable evening for all of us.

The Streak Has Ended

It was a good run. We went a collective 4 years, 5 months of parenting with no ear infections ... in the children (Mike has had two). Until today. When sleep-deprived me brought sad, feverish, sleep-deprived Quinn to the doctor, praying for a diagnosis that could be medicated. As opposed to the "unexplained fever" diagnosis that Fiona had this summer ... for almost a week. And an ear infection it was.

We've had a bumpy few days and the night ahead looks rough (based on the sadness we're currently listening to). We'll try to remember to count our blessings that we've made it this far without an ear infection when we're up in the middle of the night. At least we have some pink medicine in the fridge that will hopefully bring relief soon. Mike especially is very sympathetic of her pain.

We've had a family discussion about how maybe no more ear infections for a while. 4 years, 5 months sounds like a good goal!

A Glimpse at Life

Here are a few of the interesting, sweet, and humorous things going on in the lives of each Vanneste.

Quinn talks a LOT right now. And is starting to say more and more words that the rest of us can actually decipher (as opposed to the 30 seconds of babble and the expectant look that has you hoping she maybe asked for a cup ...). She says "Fiona" now, only it comes out "Nona." That's not accurate. She says "Bug Bug," she shrieks "Nona" and the shriek is usually followed by her enticing Fiona into a rousing game of chase. Or wrestling. Or stroller wars. When she takes time to concentrate, she knows that "Nona" is not right and very deliberately focuses on her tongue action to say "No-la-la-la-na." When she sees a picture of herself, she will point and say "Key" (Quinny). And when we sing "If you're happy and you know it," she says "ha-choo" for "hooray."

Fiona is trying to figure out this Thanksgiving gig. Halloween was easy. Costumes. Candy. Trick or treating. Tangible concepts. Christmas ... Jesus' birthday party. Santa. Got it! Thankfulness ... hmmm. This morning on the way to day care, out of the blue, she said to me, "Mama, I am thankful for you and Daddy and Quinny and Yogi. And my grandmas ... And my grandpas." I told her that I was thankful for her and daddy and Quinny and Yogi and grandmas and grandpas too. Then she said to me (and I melted), "Mama, you are in my heart." At dinner tonight, she was digging the chicken that Mike grilled and asked for more. After Mike brought her more, she said to me, "I'm thankful for more chicken." It's fun to see where her head goes in this thankfulness exploration - and to have conversations about how blessed we are.

Mike has had a busy month. He had his second ear infection of the year (what!?!?), which was no fun. Luckily, he recognized the signs this time and got on meds before his ear drum ruptured. That's a good choice as the recovery time is significantly reduced. He had a successful weekend up north at the hunting shack and ended up with two deer. That's all I know. If you want more specifics, you'll have to ask him yourself. He also spent many. MANY. nights working on my laptop to stop the endless stream of blue screens. It was an angst-filled process that resulted in a few fineable words (usually after bedtime) ... but my laptop is currently working. Hooray!

While the laptop was in the "ER," I was forced to relocate to the basement desktop computer to do things like the checkbook. It's cold down there. And the monitor is REALLY bright and the dimness adjuster thing doesn't work anymore. So I had to put my sunglasses on to not get a migraine. Mike just sat there and laughed at me as I complained my way through the weekly bill session. I have no idea where the girls get their whining and dramatic tendencies. It's clearly Mike ...

Yogi continues to be the best. We were a bit concerned about his hips this summer as he seemed to have alot of stiffness after active days. Mike brought him in for his annual physical last weekend and the vet was very pleased with his range of motion in his hips and didn't see anything to be concerned about. Yogi, like the rest of us tall folks here, seems to just not be getting younger. We'll try to keep him as active as possible to keep those hips in good shape. Maybe he can join "Key" and "Nona" in chase, and wrestling, and stroller wars.

Done Bailing, Hoping to Float

I'm sorry. I have not been a good blogger this month. Between life, daylight savings, Mike hunting, pacifier removal and the lasting post-weekend exhaustion ... oh, and my laptop breaking ... we've been limping through this week.

Luckily, I married tech support and he has successfully fixed my laptop! We are all still exhausted, but have determined that a major goal this weekend is to right our listing ship. The rain kept Mike away from the yard work that needs attention, but we did get several loads of laundry done (bedding, outside gear, etc) and have restocked the fridge and the diaper supply. 

We took a little timeout for fun this morning and headed to play on some trampolines/bounce houses/giant slides/massive ball pit. Quinn made a bad choice around morning nap (Q's day was a cacophony of bad choices!) and was pretty tired there. Bugs had an absolute blast. She was so brave and was surprisingly coordinated. We were really proud. It must have been a fun time because she has a bright red cheek from a big slide face plant. 

I'll try to get back on the blogging bandwagon again. Thanks for hanging with me!

Vannestes: Unplugged

The smile of a girl
who DID IT!

Mike says I'm the bestest, bravest wife ever (or I'm possibly paraphrasing for him). I'm either that or the dumbest. I made the executive decision that this weekend while he is gone hunting, I was pulling the plugs. For both girls.

My sister came down yesterday and I told her that I was going to write an "unplugged" blog. She told me that pacifier removal was not acoustic. She stayed until bedtime. She learned. There are DEFINITELY acoustics. Maybe not Clapton-esque. But there was reverb for sure!

Friday night, the girls and I put the pacifiers in a box - for Ms. Cour-ten-ney's (how Fiona says it) baby. And I "mailed" them. I really should have. I now understand the briefest glimpse of why long term torture is effective. As it goes on and on, you start to think ... I know where those stupid plugs are. I could end this suffering. But you try to stay strong ... because apparently making pacifier removal their college roommates' problem is "bad parenting." Piffle!

The "Unplugged"
album cover

Friday night, Quinn was put to bed downstairs. Pacifier less. Fiona was put to bed in their room. Pacifier less. Quinn cried for about 20 minutes. Fiona cried for 2 hours. So hard that I considered bringing a bucket in because I was pretty sure she was going to throw up. About 9:30, she fell asleep. And she woke up at 1:00, sobbing. Honestly, the middle of the night is what I think will be the hardest for her. I went in and laid on the floor of her room. She laid with me some and in her bed some. She fell back asleep between 3:00/3:30. And then slept until morning. She was SO proud on Saturday morning!! And she finally got the doctor kit that has been waiting in Daddy's closet for this very accomplishment. Quinny made it all night too. She woke up around 6:00 and was sad that she wasn't in her room. We all went out for doughnuts at the bakery in the morning to celebrate.

Saturday nap didn't have tears ... or sleeping. She simply played in her room for two hours. So she only cried about 30 minutes last night - before sheer exhaustion won out. She woke up at 2:45 and I went in. I turned on her music and laid on the floor, but made her stay in her bed. She fell asleep by the end of the music and I went back to bed.

Today, we went to Auntie's and she successfully napped there! That was huge. Tonight, I'm taking a chance and put Quinn back in their room. Poor Q misses her regular bed. Buggy is there and I'm watching her wander the room on the video monitor. But she's not currently crying. Rats - she's tickling Quinn ... and now has ticked her off. I give them about two minutes before I intervene. Sigh ...

Fingers crossed that we are on the path. I in no way think we're out of the woods. But hopefully we aren't lost. Or going in circles.

PS - because the world is not fair, Fiona also woke up with a cold today. Poor thing. Think extra nice thoughts for her. And she and Quinn are still chatting away in there. Sigh ...

Whose daylight am I saving?

How non-morning people
deal with DST.
Cartoons and snuggles.

The girls did fairly well with daylight savings time yesterday. They slept in to a reasonable hour - even a reasonable hour in the new time (I told my Dad that I wasn't changing the clocks until we got up - because if I had to get up with a 4 or a 5 in the time, I was going to be unreasonable for the day!).

We had a good day together, including a trip to the Children's Museum and a bit of time outside before the wind threatened to just simply blow us all away. It was going well ... until after dinner. When they descended into anarchy! I don't know why rules were suddenly irrelevant. But they were. And Quinn the Destructor was in full form. Her poor big sister was just trying to deal with her tired in a constructive way by building a hopscotch game out of beaded necklaces in the hallway. And Q dealt with her tired by taking great joy in destroying said game. Repeatedly. Physical separations ensued.

Stocking hat twins

Luckily anarchy was short-lived as we simply put their tired, unreasonable selves to bed. And by 7:40 in the new time regime, there was silence from the back hallway. Anarchy will liking rear its head a few more times as bodies fully adjust. But they both seemed to enjoy their extra hour this morning as they slept until we woke them up. And were both in sunshine-y moods. So much so that Fiona has already earned herself an extra book at bedtime. If only all Monday mornings went so well ...

Tricks, Treats, and Two Disney Mice

Quinn is playing a trick on the family. She's cutting FOUR molars. Three are at least partially through and one is royally ticking her (and us) off. To be fair, she's cut (or almost cut) six teeth this month. None of the rest of our mouths want to do that. A little grace will be given ...

We managed to tease her into a good enough humor to be our Quinny Minnie and join her Mickey for a round of trick or treating around the neighborhood. For the first time, Buggy totally understood it - and LOVED it. After each house, she would say, "can we trick or treat again?" We started out pulling the wagon, but decided it was a pain to pull them out at each house. So Mike carried Minnie and Mickey walked (!) with me.

Then even more magic was discovered when we got home. Oh. my. goodness. Other friends came to our house and we could put candy in their bags!! The girls were totally into it. Our visiting friends were so patient as Quinny slowly, painstakingly, put a single candy in each of their bags. Then they put their bags up again so Buggy could put her handful of candy in each bag too. The most patient of friends got a serious haul from us - so it was worth their wait.

Moral of the story: with the hyper big and cranky little, we didn't get much for pictures tonight. These were the best we could do for the day.

Getting Scary

We're practicing up for Halloween. We've donned our costumes twice, are trick-or-treating pros, and are sure there will be cake at the day care Halloween party (fingers crossed).

What a glorious weekend we've had. We spent the morning outside on Saturday, ensuring the leaf pile was nice and compressed for Daddy. Mom had the brilliant idea to line the slide up with pile ... sweet! Then Auntie came down for a fun afternoon of pumpkin carving. We have a silly pumpkin and a happy pumpkin (Bugs' orders). Bug even helped Daddy scrape out one of the pumpkins and oversaw the carving. Her attention was rock solid for 1 1/2 pumpkins. Not bad for a three year old!

Mom, Bug, Q, and Yogs headed to the park this afternoon after nap because it was just too beautiful to not be outside as much as possible. It was so great that we all headed back out after dinner. Breathing in all that fresh air as long as we can.

A humorous side note from Friday ... I texted Mike around 11 am on Friday to tell him I was so hungry that I was considering eating my arm. He texted back that he was starving too. I met my good friend Mary for lunch at Punch and ate an entire pizza (that's not abnormal. They're sorta personal size). I called Mike after to tell him I was still hungry. He told me that he had gone to a Chinese restaurant and had a double entree and a side of potstickers ... and was still hungry. Then, when M picked up the girls from Ms. A's, she likened feeding our children at lunch to "feeding the lions at the zoo." There may or may not have been nearly literal pouncing on food. And knowing Q, probably bellowing for more! My official diagnosis - family tapeworm. What else could it be? ;-)

It's not Fall ...

until you jump in a big ol' pile of leaves! Fiona has been asking for a leaf pile every day for over a week. Mike got home a little early today and worked quickly to surprise her with a pile when he brought them home from day care. She LOVED it! Quinn was unsure. She ventured in a bit, but was mostly content to watch from the sidelines.

There are so many more leaves in our yard ... so she'll have another chance at bravery and leaf pile jumping. Even better, our neighbor buddy B was walking by with his mom and baby sister (he's just a few months younger than Fiona) - so B stopped by for a few minutes to enjoy the fun too. Leaf piles are better when shared with friends. And brave sisters ... ahem, Q ...

Eight!

Eight happened! As of this week, we've been married for eight years. That doesn't feel like enough to either of us ... think we'll hang together for a few more! ;-)

We spent a great day together on our anniversary. We both took the day off of work, brought the girls to day care, and then hung out. It was perfect! We spent the morning cleaning the garage - much to my sister's dismay. Then we got cleaned up and headed out for pizza and nachos for lunch. Our big kid doesn't like pizza. Seriously - what kid doesn't like pizza!?!? So we eat it on our anniversary - because we like pizza. Then we went mini-golfing - and I WON (by one stroke). We're normally neck and neck - but Mike always beats me because I lose focus on the back nine. Not this time ... or I did, but had built a good enough lead.

Our anniversary always makes me think back to the day we got engaged. We both had homework. Grad school for me. Work training course for Mike. So we went out for Chinese for dinner to "save time" (procrastinate). After dinner, we walked through the mall to Kohl's to look for new wind pants for Mike. On the way, we saw a jewelry store with signs for 70% off. We'd been talking for months about getting engaged, so Mike suggested we go in - just to look. He found the perfect ring. As soon as I tried it on, we both loved it. So we left the store without buying it. We do things like that. We wandered aimlessly around Kohl's - both thinking of the ring. Wind pants could have jumped out at us and we wouldn't have seen them. I didn't want to pressure the boy ... so didn't say anything.

As I followed him out of Kohl's, he smirked at me and said, "don't think we are leaving here without that ring." So he bought it. And proposed that night in the parking lot of my apartment building.

It may seem like a strange engagement story - but to me, it is the perfect snapshot of our relationship. Things happen when they are supposed to and we are delightfully happy when they do. We don't do fanfare - but we do "together" really well. Neither one of us is super romantic (heck - we cleaned the garage on our anniversary), but we are truly, deeply in love with each other. I love the guy who proposes in the parking lot because he doesn't want to wait another minute to ask me. He loves the girl who offered to forego the ring and get engagement shoes instead (he's the best - because I got both the ring and the shoes!).

Thank goodness for Chinese food, wind pants, and wickedly good discounts on diamonds (dude - we were young and poor!). Happy Anniversary, honey! I love you!

Jumping Q

Quinny learned to jump. It's so funny. She also learned to say "jump." There's a lot of jumping commentary around here!

Halloween Spirits

 We're getting excited about Halloween! The fall and Halloween themed books are favorites, the house is full of jack-o-lantern decorations, there's a pumpkin pie candle ... and the costumes have been donned for a trial run.

I was in drama club in high school - and loved it. And dress rehearsals were always a good thing - to work the bugs out before the big show. Pre-Halloween activities are like dress rehearsals around here. And it was a good thing too. The hand-me-down Minnie Mouse costume that was earmarked for Q is a tad too small. When I saw a tad, I mean that the skirt ends at about her waistline. And the back-up Mickey Mouse costume that Mike bought on Friday (because the stupid online store forgot to ship the one that I ordered ... and arriving on Tuesday does NOT help me) was about 3 inches too short.

But they rocked the tiny costumes and were as cute as little Disney mice can be! We headed to Pumpkins in the Park again. And met our S-town buds again. It was awesome. A little on the cool side, but the bigger kids had a great time participating in the games this year. And doing the trick-or-treating. Q got to trick-or-treat too. She had a good time.

Then today, we went to the pumpkin patch. Even though we got pumpkins yesterday at Pumpkins in the Park, Mom and Fiona need at least one trip to the real patch. Both girls had a really good time exploring all the pumpkins to find just the right ones to bring home. Just a couple weeks and we can carve them. Rumor has it, Auntie is going to join us for that fun festivity!

Q's Off Week

Big blue eyes

This babe had a tough week last week while I was in Texas. She popped a 103 fever the day I left and spent two days home with daddy. They did have a nice time - especially since she slept. A lot. In addition, she popped two teeth! We are up to eight now. Go, Q, go!

She was still a bit edgy on Saturday, but she was a good sport while we went to a tea party AND to watch daddy's hockey game. After a LONG nap on Sunday morning, she was back to her typical Q self. Hooray!

"Don't eat crayons"

We totally had a second child moment on Saturday when she lost her mind after I told her not to eat the crayons. Instead of feeling bad and comforting her like I would have done with Fiona at that age, I laughed and took a picture. Fiona tried to help by also telling Q that you can't eat crayons. Q did not appreciate older sister's contribution. Poor second baby!

Bonus round: Quinn has quite the vocabulary these days. But her top 5 words tell you all you need to know about her ... "cup, more, help, down, woof."

In the Pool

We love the water. Therefore, our girls must love the water. Fiona is a total fish - but if it's bigger than a bathtub, Quinn is not so interested. That meant swimming lessons. For both.

We lucked out and were able to get them both in their respective classes at the same time. The time is not ideal, but we're making it work. Quinn is swimming in the beginner class with Daddy and Fiona, the big girl, is doing her very first no-parent class.

We went the first week, full of trepidation. I figured that Quinn would not be happy about the class and Fiona would embrace it with love. I could not have been more wrong. After the first few minutes of adjustment, Quinn was in. I spent the first class sitting on the side of the pool with a Bug who refused to go in. Sigh ...

I was in Texas last week and Quinn was sick - but Mike braved it as a single parent and brought Bugs to lessons. She wouldn't go in the water at first ... until Mike went over and told her that she needed to get in. Duh! I had explained, sympathized, and encouraged - but never just told her to go in. Oops! Today was week three. Bugs went in and is getting more comfortable. She doesn't like that the boys in her class splash all the time, but she digs the rest of it.

Since they were all happy enough in the pool, I was free to sit on the bleachers and play with my telephoto lens. Hooray!

When All Else Fails, Make Up Words

Back in the spring, I wrote about Fiona’s “big girl checklist.” I’ve learned that there is apparently only one person in this house who can focus on more than five goals at a time without getting an eye twitch. To dispel confusion, that person’s name does not begin with an M, an F, a Q, or a Y. Thus, the big girl checklist was edited, prioritized, dissected, discarded, resurrected, loathed, and other such things for the last few months.

I can proudly say there has been progress. And failure. We’ll start with the failure. It’s funnier. (more updates will come over the next few blog posts)

The PRP is an epic fail around this joint. She is just not having it. And the next person who tells me to just take it away and she’ll be fine will inherit a three-year-old. And you’ll see. You’ll see.

Did you ever wonder what would happen when two people with fairly iron wills produced offspring? We can tell you. Said cute, blonde offspring have “ironer” wills. I don’t even care that ironer is not a word. It fits in this situation. Fiona is ironer!

For example, when we drove home from our 4th of July adventure up north, Quinn cried from GR to about 10 minutes north of Aitkin. That’s about 50 minutes of straight up crying for those not familiar with northern MN geography. Do you know what our parental response was to Quinn’s attitude? Amateur.

Fiona once bellowed, screamed, sobbed, and rampaged from GR to south of Milaca. I think that’s a violation of the Geneva Convention. It’s enough to make you consider stopping for an exorcism. Ironer.

Fiona’s current crying record is 5 hours. 300.minutes.of.nonstop.crying. Ironer.

You take that damn pacifier away from her. I dare you!

PS: Sunday marks our one year anniversary of the move to the big girl bed (thank you, blog record-keeping miracle). That was another collision of iron and ironer wills. We’ll extract the pacifier yet. Just have to find the right angle.

In Pictures

I'm heading to Houston in just a few minutes, so may be quiet on the blog front. So here are a few pictures to hold you over! We've been busy enjoying the new toys from Fiona's birthday, learning some of our new games (Ellie - the Clifford game is AWESOME!), and hanging out in the abnormally warm weather.

Hockey season is revving up for daddy and trips to the pumpkin patch are on the horizon. We're ready!

Kickin' It

I've played on a kickball team with some friends from college for ten a couple years! It's a kids game and our team is there [mostly] to have fun. Don't get me wrong - we're pretty good and have won our share of championships. But we know that it is kickball - not competitive fast pitch. Anyway ... I digress.

When Mike moved down here, he joined the team too. Since we had kids, we share a roster spot as it's a 20 minute drive from here to the game. And late games just do not work with the girls. Lucky us, this season, there are a lot of early games. Last week AND this week, we had 6:15 games. Those present their own set of problems as that is dinner time, rush hour, and squeezed right at the end of the work day.

We feel so lucky to play on a team with friends who not only are truly excited when the girls show up, but actually encourage both Mike and I to play in the field at the same time and willingly watch the girls. There is a reason why our roster hasn't changed much over the years!

Last week, Uncle Dan and Uncle Z sent Mike out to the field. I played catcher to keep an eye on the goings on in the dugout. Mike left Q and she did not appreciate the desertion. I had to laugh at the looks of sheer panic from the honorary dugout uncles. I directed them to our bag and told them to pull out a yogurt pouch for Q (I heard, "Yes - we can buy happiness!"). Uncle Z handed it to her gingerly (like one would with a rabid dog) and she bellowed back at him. I laughed and reminded him that he did need to open it! Once opened, they were bestest friends.

I did also have to remind Uncle Dan a few times (jokingly - he would never) that the gummy bears on the bench were not for the girls. You know, because they were soaked in vodka. I love our team! No shortage in creativity on how we can make kickball an "adult" game. For the record, I thought the gummies were delicious!

This week, the girls were more comfortable and therefore a bit more wild. They were still really good, but Q's goal in life was to get on the field of play. Buggy was running around, tripped (with a sandwich in each hand), and smacked her forehead on the concrete. We played out in the field less and tried to keep the fan base under control. They are still great fans and love to cheer on Mom and Dad - and the rest of the team!

Birthday Blues

THREE!

Fiona is THREE! Say what!?! When did that happen!?!

She is so excited to be three and is definitely navigating the transition from toddler to preschooler. There are areas of her life where she is truly enjoying the independence that her new skill sets bring. There are other areas where she's not certain she's ready to grow up. Able to play downstairs on her own. Awesome. Required to put on her own footwear. Big fat bummer.

The birthday weekend whirlwind is coming to a close - but it has been a great one. And she still has most of her presents unopened downstairs. The party was just too much fun to interrupt. This may be my last year of getting away with doling them out for a few days - but I'm going to do it while I can!

Fiona finally chose her birthday party theme last weekend. Blue. Yep ... just blue. So Mommy and food coloring had a good time. We had blue striped cupcakes with blue icing, blue pasta salad (I dyed the noodles), blueberry wands with watermelon stars, blue chips, and not-blue pulled pork. It was a creative challenge, but was fun to be able to deliver something that wowed her!

We kicked off the celebration early with a family outing to kickball Thursday night (an upcoming post will be about that). Then birthday proper was feted with a day care party and a visit by Gma and Gpa J. We had the most gorgeous fall day yesterday (not quite warm enough for the pool she requested) for her party and at one point, had fourteen kiddos ages 6 months to 6 years running around the yard. So fun!

Then this morning, we met cousins Spencer and Abby at their hotel for a morning in the pool. No wonder the girls were ready for naptime.

Thanks to all for making our 3-year-old feel special and loved on her big day. I asked her what the best part of her party was and her answer was "seeing all my friends and playing."

I asked Fiona these questions before her party and here are her newly three answers:

Favorite color: Blue
Favorite friend: Jack & Cooper and Brad & Cheryl ... and Teemu
Favorite show: A silly Sofia [Sofia the First]
Favorite book: Curious George
Favorite food: Mac & cheese
Favorite thing to do with Mommy, Daddy, and Quinny: Tackle them  

Bonus Round ... a picture of baby sis at the party - saying "ta-da" and giving Mommy a heart attack as she fearlessly navigated all the climbers in the yard. Again. I don't think the pink cast (which is off by the way) will be the last cast for the small daredevil!