Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Ken and I were able to have a great night tonight with our little boy. Our home teacher has season tickets to the EMs baseball team. He wasn't going tonight and asked us if we wanted the three tickets. We thought it would be fun to just take Leo. We got a babysitter. Leo was so excited he got dressed up in his baseball hat (given to him by DJ Hunter - a player on the UofO Ducks baseball team, and family friend) and his baseball jersey. He kept wondering if DJ would be playing tonight, but I told him this wasn't a college game.

We had great seats right behind the home plate.

Leo did great watching the game until he started getting tired about 1/2 way through.

Ken was giving him plenty of guidance on the rules of baseball.

At one point Leo started getting really restless so Ken took him out for a walk around the stadium. They had a vendor set up that would allow people to throw the ball and see how fast they were throwing. Liam wanted to do it and threw 33 mph! We thought that was pretty amazing because a kid who looked 12 had thrown right before him and had thrown a 42.

Since we were in my old neighborhood. I thought it would also be fun to show Leo the college house I lived in "the old blue house". The landscaping had been updated, and I had seen pictures on the internet when it was on the market a few years back. It looks different, but it was still fun to look at it and remember some old memories. For example the small windows on the east side of the house on the second floor are the windows I crawled through to get into my roomate's room after she locked her keys in her room, fighting over the one phone or dirty dishes left in the sink, playing minature golf in the backyard, carrying my own roll of toilet paper to the bathroom because everyone refused to buy anymore, or the time the roof caved in just minutes after I had left my sun room (ah good times!)

Liam of course was not impressed at all. He simply wanted to race to get to the ball game.

Midge's new cut

Our little Midge is a very determined little girl. She knows what she wants and when she makes up her mind she goes for it. For several weeks now she has been begging me to get her hair cut. I kept telling her she needed to think about it because once you get it cut you can't change your mind.  (Of course part of me was stalling because I was trying to get used to the idea of her hair being cut more than she was.) I kind of thought she might forget about it, but she kept bringing it up. I finally told her I would make an appointment. She was so upset I couldn't get it for the day I called. We went in today and cut it, and she loves it. When we came out she was jumping up and down. She said it felt so light and free, she said she felt like she didn't have any hair at all. I am really excited that it is cut now because the length was always a battle to brush. She was tired of the tangles, and I was tired of the arguing. I like the fact that she can still style it and pull it back if she wants. 

When we got home she took her new haircut seriously and decided to host a fashion show with her brother. Her is her brother's creation. We title it "Wild man meets inner athlete"

Here is our little glamor girl.

If you compare the pictures from the fire station Midge lost a good 6 inches of hair. She was shocked to see her hair on the floor when we left.

Personal Tour of fire station

Our home teacher is a retired fire fighter. His grandson was in town and arranged for them to have a personal tour of the new fire station in our neighborhood. He invited our kids and his companion's grandchildren to come too. 

The firefighters were so awesome with the kids answering any questions that they had. Even the far out ones and with a lot of little kids there were some crazy questions. 

This is Sergeant Little. He was so patient and sweet with the kids. They had just gotten back from a training exercise where they had been out in the hot sun for 5 hours. They hadn't eaten lunch, they were tired, hot and sweaty but they took so much time with our kids. 

The firefighters had them pick up their equipment. The kids were shocked how heavy it was.

At this point my camera battery ran out and I was so sad because of course this was when they had the kids operate the hoses. The kids had a blast holding them, turning the nozzle to create a variety of spray and of course using it to spray mom. I got some great pictures on my cell phone, but of course I can't for the life of me figure out how to now get them off my cell phone. The firefighters also let them climb into the ambulance, go upstairs, and even see their personal bedrooms. It is a really nice fire station and we love the firefighters. Midge wants us to bake something for them and take it too them as a thank you.

First Lost Tooth

Leo lost his first tooth yesterday. For several weeks now it has been loose. Midge swallowed her first tooth, so she has been reinforcing to him the need to be careful.

In the morning I took the kids to the free movies at VRC. In the middle of the movie he screams out it is really loose, and Midge confirms it is hanging by a thread. 

When we got home for lunch it was so close I kept telling him he should just pull it out. He was too scared and even started crying a little. I told him not to worry it would come out when it was ready. Sure enough he started to walk away, and then swung around with the tooth in his hand.

He is so excited he keeps showing everyone.

Unfortunately the tooth fairy did not come last night. Ken and I were awoken bright and early with complaints. We told the kids that they had stayed up too late last night (Midge was still up at 11:00 when Ken and I went to bed) and the tooth fairy will not come if children are not asleep. Hopefully the loud fireworks won't affect their sleep tonight. 

When will I get my couch back?

This is a regular appearance around our house. 

You wonder where are the cushions?

Well of course they are strewn across the floor of my kitchen, because come on what else would you do with cushions?

Unless it is making a fort, or a special chair for a stuffed animal.

As I said my kids don't like playing with toys, but when it comes to making a big pile of pillows this is their favorite activity. In the meantime I would just like to be able to have one couch that I could reliably sit on. Maybe in another decade.

Library Day

One of my favorite days of the week is when we go to the library. We don't like the story time day (too many people and my kids don't like to compete for the books and computers with the crowds.) Each kid gets a cloth bag and they can fill it up with as many books as they want as long as they can still carry it (I carry Little Miss's selections). Then we usually head to the grocery store. The kids pile into the cart each with a book and I am able to make it around the store usually 1/2 way before I even really hear a peep. 

When we get home the books are strewn about the floor and the kids dive in. Midge is our only official "reader" so often she is wrangled into reading to Leo and Little Miss, but Leo and Little Miss are able to imitate very well. We have caught Little Miss on several occasions in a corner reading out loud to herself. 

Midge reminds me of myself at her age. I loved escaping into a good book. My favorite thing in the world then as well as now was to bring home a stack of books and dive in. I hope that all my kids are always readers and have a love for it like I do. 

Our little Linus

Midge was crazy attached to pacies, Leo had a special blanket (that he liked to sniff - don't ask), but none of our kids have been as attached to a single blanket like Little Miss. She has to have it to sleep, eat, go on errands, cuddle with when sad, watch TV. She would take it into the bath with her if I allowed it. June Banta (my visiting teaching companion gave it to her as a gift when she was only a few weeks old. I don't remember when she came attached, but it is official now. The funny thing is she loves to chew on the satin edges. Recently I had to remove the old edge and attach a new edge, because she had turned the old edging brown. 

Leo and Midge tease her because she will hold it up to her nose and snort into it. I can't explain it, but she only does this when she is tired. So it is usually a clue that she is ready for bed. 

The biggest challenge is getting her to not take it outside. She had a major tantrum because I wouldn't let her take it to the park today. If I would have let her she would have dragged it through the sand, water, and bark chips without a second thought.