Laid Back Sunday

We enjoyed a very laid back day.  We went to church.  Katherine has had a little cough so we took her to worship with us.  She did great.  Mom took her after that so we could teach our Sunday School class.  We expected attendance to be way down and it was -- we had half what we normally do.  It was kind of a nice break.  After our weekly Subway stop we came home from naps.  We ended up just playing and doing chores around the house.  Luke helped me get out all of the pumpkins and fall decorations. He is such a great helper.  We had leftovers for supper and are looking forward to having one more day together tomorrow!

A Night With Friends

We had the Louws and MacLeans over for supper tonight.  The kids had a blast.  The MacLeans got here first and Cade and Connor just went right up to Luke and asked if he wanted to play!  Off they went upstairs.  When I check on them later they had built Luke an "awesome train track".  I was so impressed with how well the boys played with Luke. He loved all the attention!  When the Louw girls got here they added a little spice to the mix!  All in all the kids played well together.  Just got a little rambunctious at times but we knew they would.

We had ribs, chicken tenders, corn on the cob, salad, potato casserole and homemade ice cream.  The kids (and adults)  loved the ice cream.  We used sprinkles and toppings from Katherine's birthday so they all got a kick out of it.  All the kids were sportin' their ice cream mustaches and Christina had to join in.  When everyone left I realized we were all exhausted!  It was a long, but fun day!

The BIG Thomas!

Pretty much since we went to Thomas the Train last  year Luke has been asking when we were going to go back and ride on The BIG Thomas.  The day finally arrived!  We decided to leave Katherine with Nonna so we could have some one-on-one time with Luke.  I said numerous times during our outing that I was so glad we did not have her with us.  It was so hot and muggy and there were people everywhere!  Paul and I were hopeful that Luke would enjoy himself more this year than last.  He did!  He loved it!  He loved riding on the train and looking out at the scenery.  He loved the storytelling and getting a tattoo.  But, when you ask him what his favorite part was he says the toy store!  Of course, there is a gift shop there with all things Thomas.  Nonna gave Luke some money to get something for he and Katherine.  Well, Luke obviously forgot the Katherine part. He immediately picked out a train that neither Paul or I had ever heard of, but he was dead set on that train.  Her name is Belle and it turns out that he learned about her when Nene read him a book at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago.  She is going to be in the latest Thomas movie that comes out next week.

So, Luke was ecstatic to get her and did not put up too much fuss when we told him it was time to go.  My friends with older sons warn me that the love of trains is about to run its course.  Next, he will be on to Super Heroes and video games.  I am not in any hurry to get out of this train phase!  We have a lot of money invested in the trains, track, etc and I feel it helps with his creativity and imagination.  And, the stories all have good messages to them.  So, I will hold on to the trains as long as I can!

Katherine did great with Nonna!  She was a little unsure when we first left but settled in fairly quickly.  We went home because we needed to get ready to have friends over tonight!

Put Him To Work

Luke normally still runs when Paul or I start to vacuum.  He says it is loud!  Would have thought he would have been over this by now.  Katherine is still putting everything in her mouth so we vacuum all the time.  Luke decided he wanted to vacuum tonight.  He pretty much did the whole room which was nice!  He also likes to use the dustbuster and sweep.  I think he gets his love of cleaning from his daddy!

Super excited to be kicking off a 3-day weekend around here!  We have big plans for tomorrow!

Little Monkey

Before you ask...yes, his underwear is on inside-out!  I don't really make too much fuss about -- as long as he gets it back on himself what can it hurt?  Luke was sharing in our excitement for the return of college football!!!  We flipped back and forth between a couple of games and just enjoyed knowing that fall, in all its splendor, is upon us!!!

Another Hiding Spot

Katherine has found another favorite hiding spot.  She loves climbing under the desk in the bonus room.  She will just giggle and laugh under there like it is something special.  She will take some of her animals and toys under there and play.  There is a phone jack under there which we try to keep her from pulling on.

Two Funny Stories

So, today I was busy at work.  This does not happen much.  I had a few meetings and am working on some projects in addition to my normal patient care.  I got to the kids school later than normal then talked with Katherine's teacher for a bit, all the while thinking about what needed to be done when we got home, what to have for supper and so forth.  We walked to the parking lot and I opened the door to our vehicle.  Normally I put Katherine in first and Luke crawls over.  But I was parked a little over the line on that side and another family was getting out so I wanted Luke to get in on his side first.  He said "Mommy, this isn't our car".  I was looking the other way at something else and said, "yes it is - get in".  I then looked inside the car and it was not our car!  How embarrassing!  I quickly closed the door and went to our car.  Luke was laughing uncontrollably.  As we were driving away he said "Mommy are you going to tell Daddy what silly thing you did with the car?".  ** In my defense it was a Black GMC Acadia, just like ours. ** 

Next funny story, as soon as we got home Luke went straight to the bathroom like most days.  I was holding Katherine who was having a fit trying to crawl in to the bathtub (that girl loves the tub). My cell phone rang and it was Paul saying he was leaving work.  I asked him to call his mom to see if she could watch Katherine Saturday morning while we take Luke to see Thomas the Train.  I did not think much of it.  When Paul got home the first thing Luke said was "Did you call your mom to see if she can watch Katherine so it is just Mommy, Daddy and Luke at the Big Thomas"!

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful.  Luke helped me cook supper which was great.  We had tilapia again.  Katherine is still not in to fish.  We made a veggie blend and she did eat some of the carrots and white beans out of it.  She still eats her weight in fruit -- any kind, peaches, strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas.  Luke and I bought a cantaloupe and watermelon at the grocery Sunday.  I cut it up and he put it in containers for me.  I am proud to say that a large portion of all that fruit has been eaten and it is only mid-week!

Say Cheese!

It was back to work Monday which is never fun.  Usually when the alarm goes off in the mornings I mentally calculate how many more mornings that I have to wake up to the alarm!  Since I work four days a week it is bearable!  When I picked up the kids we decided to get Luke's hair cut.  It was way overdue and very shaggy.  We hit up the local Fantastic Sam's.  He did great, as usual.  Katherine just sat in my lap and took it all in.  We enjoyed a quick supper at home then spent the night playing with the kids.

Getting in the Groove

So, Paul and I might be getting in the groove of this teaching Sunday School thing.  This morning we had 11 children which was not much less than last week.  But, I felt like it went a lot smoother.  We worked out a transition plan with the teachers that do the first hour.  This makes it easier on the kids and us.  All of the kids were well behaved and moved from activity to activity without much fuss.  There are always one or two that want to do their own thing.  Sometimes we let them and others we persuade them to join us. 

Katherine is also getting in the groove of eating.  If she does not like something we give it a few days and try again.  If it is something she really likes she will eat and eat and eat!  After church, lunch and naps Luke and I did a few errands.  I needed to pick up my items that did not sell at consignment.  I made over $50 so that was not too bad.  We also went to Target and Kroger.  It was great having some quality time with him and Luke loved it!

A Wonderful Meal and Unexpected Sleepover

We went to Gallatin to see Nene and Pop tonight.  Paula had some wonderful steaks that the guys grilled. I do not eat steak that much, but it was by far the best steak I have had in a long time.  The kids loved playing outside.  Luke kept himself occupied with a bubble making lawn mower.  He has probably had that at Nene and Pop's for two years but tonight for some reason it was his favorite thing.  He mowed and mowed their lawn!  It was a beautiful night with low humidity and a cool breeze.  Paula found a kite so Paul and Luke flew it for a while.  The night made me anxious for fall weather!  Katherine had no fear.  She would crawl from the patio in to the grass, climb in chairs, on toys and up the stairs!  We enjoyed supper on the patio then went inside to watch the Titans preseason game. 

Paula asked if Luke would like to spend the night.  Of course, he said yes!  We should have thought about it sooner but it had not crossed our minds.  We decided he could stay and she will meet us at church in the morning.  We just have to remember to bring some clothes for him or he will be going to church in his pj's!!!  It is pretty nice to have a "night off" every once in a while.  Since I have weaned Katherine and Paul is putting her to bed I have been on Luke duty this week.  More often than not I fall asleep in his bed and do not wake up until well after my bedtime.  So, I have not been able to get anything done at night!  I am taking advantage of a quiet house and blogging and watching the Titans!

I'm the Cooker Man!

Most Friday nights we go out to eat and tonight was no exception.  Luke said he wanted a hamburger so we chose Steak and Shake.  Definitely not the healthiest, but it is inexpensive.  After saying he wanted a hamburger that boy ended up ordering mac-n-cheese. It was nice because they offer applesauce and oranges instead of fries for the kids.  Luke loves the hats they have and they have cool activities to keep the kids entertained.  The service was friendly and fast so I am sure we will be going back there sooner than later.

A Playdate with Nene!

The kids stayed home with me today.  Luke was pushing my buttons before 7:30!  He finally settled down and both kids were wonderful all day.  I put Katherine down for a morning nap and she slept for over an hour and a half.  During that time the "Bug Man" came which thrilled Luke to no end.  He followed him around asking what he was doing, what was that he was carrying and so forth.  The technician got a kick out of it!

We planned to do something with Paula.  She has not seen the kids in a couple of weeks.  Once I told Luke we were meeting her at Peek-A-Boo Playtown he became very impatient and did not understand why Katherine would not wake up!  I got us both ready and our bags packed and she still was not awake.  I did have to wake her up so we could leave, but she did not seem to mind.  Paula called when we were almost there to say that Peek-A-Boo had gone out of business in July.  I guess this happened shortly after we had our playdate with the Boyds.  Luke was pretty disappointed but he cheered up quickly when I suggested going to the bookstore.

I had actually forgotten that Barnes and Noble has a Thomas section complete with a train table!  Luke was in heaven.  We stayed in there for an hour so.  Nene read him countless books.  Katherine stayed entertained with the train table and all the fun stuffed animals and books.  Luke also made his first purchase.  Nene gave him money to buy a book.  He went to the cashier and paid for it all by myself.  He put the change in his pockets and the rest of the day he kept checking to make sure it was still there! 

We then went to Sam's Sports Grill for lunch.  Both kids were great and had excellent appetites!.  Paula suggested we try to find a park for Luke to play in for a few minutes before we parted ways.  He was so excited when we found a new park.  He and Nene played while I stayed with Katherine in the car while she slept.  Luke did not put up too much of a fight when it was time to go home.

Luke fell asleep pretty quickly after we got home.  I spent most of the time he was napping trying to get Katherine back to sleep.  She had not been down 30 minutes when Luke woke up!  Oh well -- if I was a stay-at-home mom I feel certain I would have a napping schedule down pat.

Nonna came over when she got off work so I could go to the consignment sale pre-sale at the kid's school.  Since I put some things in the sale I was able to shop before it was open to the public.  I realized pretty quickly that I under priced a lot of my items.  Oh well -- maybe they will sell that way!  I got a few things for Katherine and Luke so it was a worthwhile trip.  Paul got home pretty quickly and was able to feed the kids supper that had been cooking in the crock pot all day.  We had a wonderful day together!

More, More

We have been working with Katherine a little more with signing lately.  They already use this form of communication in her class at school.  She has recently started signing "more" when we are eating.  It is so cute -- she does not do it exactly right but we know what she means.  She also does "all done".  We are working on "please" and "thank-you".  We remember how nice it was communicating with Luke before he was talking well.  It makes things a lot easier.  Katherine has done great transitioning to all table food.  She will not eat baby food anymore.  In some ways I am glad, but in other ways it is so convenient to just pack her food when we are out.  Now I have to think about where we are going and what might be available for her on the menu.  She does not take a bottle at all during the day anymore.  I nursed her for the last bedtime feeding this past weekend.  Paul has been giving her a bottle at night since Sunday.  She had eased right in to it without any trouble.  We hope to have her off that bottle in the next month or so.  I must say it is so nice to not have to wash bottles so frequently!

A Little Hiding Spot

Katherine has her own little hiding spot these days.  She loves to climb up on my vanity and hang out.  Sometimes I will not even know she is up there!  She wedges herself between the stool and vanity and climbs on in.  It is perfect for her. She likes to look at herself in the mirror!  It is pretty funny.  A lot of times Luke joins her which is not her preference -- I can tell.

Our second week of teaching Sunday School went pretty well.  We ended up with 14 kids!  Considering the sheer number of children the hour went well.  They were all well-behaved.  We did not quite get all the suggested activities completed, but we did what we could.  When the coordinator found out how many we had today she promised to move some of the children to another class that was not as full.  We will see how it goes next week.

Happy Girl

Her fascination with phones is starting early

Our Saturday was very low key.  We did not do much at all.  It is too hot to do anything outside so we ran some errands and stayed close to the house most of the day.  Mom offered to come over and bring supper so we jumped on it!  She brought O'Charley's.  It was really good - as I have said before any meal I do not have to cook is great!

The kids did well playing together and entertaining us.  Luke really does not like Katherine to have any more attention than he gets.  We knew this was coming but it is still hard to deal with.  We watched the Titans preseason game after supper.  Katherine loves to walk around with her walker Nonna gave her for her birthday.  Nonna read lots of books to Luke before she left. It was a good day!

I'm Strong

After eating supper tonight we went on a hunt for some pool floats.  Luke loved the ring he used at Jon and Meme's last weekend so we have been looking for one.  The thing is all of the summer is stuff is on clearance now.  I have looked at K-mart, Target and Kroger and have not found one.  We felt sure Academy Sports would have one.  They actually did not have any either.  The summer stuff was severely depleted.  Luke did, however model some football pads and we checked out the college football attire!

Is That Tow Mater?

Trying to get her shoes on!

Welcome home, Daddy!

This afternoon when I picked the kids up I needed to run by Mom's work to pick something up.  She asked if I would want to let Luke stay with her for a little while and she would bring him home in time for supper.  Of course, we said yes!  Luke likes to visit Nonna's work and from what I hear the people at Dollar General like to see Luke.  This was two days in a row that Katherine and I had some one-on-one time.  It is amazing what all she will do when she is not distracted by Luke.  She played with this fridge farm game Luke had as a baby.  She is now able to put the animal pieces in and match them up.  She loves when she makes a match because it plays a silly song that she "dances" to. 

I decided to have breakfast for supper tonight.  We decided to try the Cars 2 pancake molds we got at Williams-Sonoma again.  The first attempt was a bust a few weeks ago.  This one was heading that way until I figured out the trick.  You really need to spray the molds well with cooking spray and the batter needs to be fairly thin.  Once the batter starts to bubble up you gently remove the mold then flip the pancake.  Prior to this we had been trying to flip the pancake in the mold.  The last one I did turned out the best.  Luke was so excited when he got home and saw his pancake!  They were pretty yummy, too!  Katherine likes pancakes!  She also is really in to strawberries right now.  She is still not into green vegetables of any kind but she did eat some macaroni and cheese earlier this week.  She had spit it out before but I thought I should try again. 

Just Me and My Girl

Tonight after supper Paul and Luke decided they were going to the pool.  Katherine and I decided to stay here.  We had fun!  We played outside for awhile  She still loves to swing.  She giggles every time!  Next we went in and explored in her room.  She is in to getting the things off of her bookshelf.  She got all the books off and even let me read some of them to her.  We are working on keeping her shoes on.  She will grab them and try to put them on by herself ( too cute ) but she will not keep them on very long.  I know it will not be too long that she has to wear them because it will be too cool.  So, we are trying to get her used to them.  She has worn them to school every day. They are always off by the time I pick her up though. 

Two Can Play This Game

Lately Katherine is very interested in anything Luke is doing.  We can not hardly keep her away.  It appears her favorite things are blocks and working puzzles!  As soon as Luke opens the cabinet where the puzzles are kept she makes a beeline for it.  Luke does not appreciate her enthusiasm.  Now, when he wants to work a puzzle either Paul or I have to "keep Katherine away" as Luke puts it.  This can be a hard job!  That little girl is determined.  She can pull the blocks apart and stick them back on.  We have tried letting her "work" a different puzzle but she always prefers whichever one Luke is working on. 

We knew this day was coming...the day when Katherine is in to his toys.  Oh well, pretty soon she will be satisfied playing with her dolls and having tea parties.  For now, Paul and I will just enjoy playing referee. 

Beautiful Sunday

Enjoying the sprinkler

I don't do well taking our picture

Luke helped Paul put my new plate on

This speaks volumes!

What a beautiful day!  Paul and I agreed to teach Luke's Sunday school class this year.  We have substituted a lot this past year and felt like it was time to get more involved.  A new schedule also started today.  Our goal is to go the 8:30 worship and then teach Luke's class at 9:45.  Paul and I have always gone to "early church" since we have been married and just do not like being there until after 12.  This way we are finished at church, get lunch and are home by 12:30 or so for the kids to wind down and take naps.  The class went great for the most part.  We had nine children total.  The girls far outnumber the boys so that will be interesting.  They were all well behaved.  Luke might give us the most trouble just because he thinks he can get away with more since we are his teachers.

We spent the afternoon, napping, playing outside in this gorgeous weather and getting ready for the week.  I have never seen the pile of laundry like we had this afternoon!  I guess I did not do much mid-week but it was overwhelming!  The best thing that happened this afternoon is that Paul found the camera!  It has been MIA for over a week and I had just about given up on it.  I had called restaurants, the doctor's office and turned the house upside-down looking for it. It was hiding in our bedspread!  We keep the comforter folded down since it is so warm.  Somehow it got in there.  I was so excited to have it back!  I borrowed Mom's Friday to have until it resurfaced or we could buy another one. 

Oh -- and we are super excited that the NFL preseason started this weekend which means...college football is just around the corner!