Moving dirt

We had some pretty exciting entertainment this afternoon!  The dirt guys finally showed up to scrape off the 6" layer of overgrown rocks along the alley as well as getting rid of the disintegrating railroad ties dividing the rocked area from the rest of the lawn.  Then they replaced it with black dirt.  Lincoln was utterly fascinated, as you can imagine.  We're hoping to get some more work done on that project the rest of this week, so stay tuned!

23 months old

 

Only one more month to go before Lincoln is two!  I'm still holding out hope that he might stop drooling by then, but it's not looking promising.  I'm really praying that last, stubborn eye tooth will pop through soon so we can get this over with!

Lincoln has a pretty long list of animal sounds now.  He also recently added "ah-pane" (airplane), "nice" and "ban-ket" (blanket) to his vocabulary.  His favorite thing to do is run up to anybody and everybody saying, "Hi!"  There are still lots of other grunts, groans and babblings that have no discernible meaning.  This gets a little frustrating at times.

Although no real words are actually said, Lincoln can quite clearly indicate he wants to watch a video either on TV or in the van, which happens quite often.  I know it's kind of sad considering the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of two watch no TV at all, but that's what happens when you're a second child.  He gets especially excited about The Berenstain Bears and Thomas and Friends.

Lincoln continues to enjoy playing with trucks, cars, trains (pretty much anything with wheels), dirt, etc.  He also likes playing with the play kitchen (as well as the real kitchen!), Emily's Little People Princess Castle and the only baby doll we have in the house.  So he's well-rounded. :o)

One significant development this month has been an exertion of independence concerning walking vs. riding.  If we go for a walk with the stroller he'll often want to get out and walk/run alongside the stroller--sometimes for up to 4 blocks at a time.  He'd also rather walk then have me carry him between the van and buildings.  Because of his petite size I have probably carried him longer than I normally would have (he just broke 24 lbs.).  The biggest showdown occurs when we go shopping.  He is usually no longer content riding in the cart--for sure not in the designated seat, but sometimes not in the big part either.  Sometimes he ends up there anyway.  On our last trip to Target he ran away three times in the shoe department alone, so he spent the rest of the time caged in the big part of the cart while I attempted to balance boxes of diapers, a giant package of TP, a six-pack of Kleenex, a large shower gift and other bulky items in the remaining space.  Of course, that's not necessarily the safest place either (there's a reason there is a warning label about not letting kids ride there).  On our last trip to Wal-mart Lincoln leaned over too far and literally took a dive into the refrigerated biscuits section.  Because of all this, I have started doing the grocery shopping on Saturdays and leaving the kids at home.

Despite his literally monkeying around, we love our little guy with all his expressiveness and goofiness! :o)

Silly boy

Lincoln wouldn't put pants on this morning, so I decided to take some blackmail pictures...

Notice the lovely white stuff outside?  We had heavy thunder snow most of the morning and ended up with 1-2" of wet, slushy muck.  It isn't all melted yet.  It might not be tomorrow either.  What happened to spring?!?  Also, the reason my rain boots were by the back door was because it was recycling pick-up day today and the wind had knocked the lids off the recycling tubs overnight and pieces of cardboard and plastic had blown all over the front yard and alley.  With a windchill in the lower 20's it was not a fun way to start the morning! :op

Later in the day Lincoln decided to be cheesy for the camera.  He has such an array of facial expressions.

Lincoln finished supper early and quietly disappeared.  When I finally realized how long he had been gone I found him playing with his cars in the plant dirt.  I just repotted this plant, so it was all fresh and fluffy stuff.  And it was everywhere.  I had to rescue four vehicles and wash them.  You can barely see the one buried in the back.

Art by Emily

I took some pictures of some of Emily's art projects today.  This is the cross she made at preschool by gluing fiori pasta onto a cardboard shape and spray-painting it gold.  It is now proudly hanging on her bedroom door knob.

She came up with her own collection of seasons pictures this afternoon using some stickers I got in the mail.  I was able to guess correctly which season was represented by each picture before labeling them.

Paying for pain

There has been one bright spot for me this month (if you want to call it that).  When the brochures for all the summer programs came out I found out about all the fitness classes offered at The W, which is a joint venture between the city of Waverly and Wartburg College.  It is a new, state-of-the-art indoor fitness facility that includes a natatorium (which I discovered is just a fancy name for an indoor swimming pool).  Although I had heard a lot about it, I had never been there before.  It's actually pretty expensive to become a member.  However, you don't have to be a member to take fitness classes and the class fees are quite reasonable.  I needed to do something after another long winter, so I signed up for the Combo class on MWF afternoons.  It totally kicks my butt for 45 minutes, but I feel so good afterward.  The next morning is sometimes a different story. ;o)  We did so many squat moves today that I don't know how I'm going to make it out of the desk chair tonight, let alone out of bed in the morning!

Anyway, it is truly a combo class with aerobics, weights and toning using all sorts of equipment.  We've used steps, mats, free weights, resistance bands, body bars, medicine balls and boxing gloves/mitts.  We do something totally different every time, and the instructor sometimes makes things up as we go based on suggestions from the class.  I've done lots of moves and used some equipment for the first time (and I used to go to a lot of aerobics classes at church when we were first married).  One nice thing about the class is that it's not full of a bunch of fitness gurus.  Out of the twenty ladies (it's all female) of all ages, maybe only one or two are really able to completely keep up with the instructor.  There are ways to modify almost everything we do, and it's totally okay if you do.  I don't have to feel guilty if some days I use the lowest weights/resistance levels.  My back and shoulder muscles usually thank me later (or at least don't scream as loudly). ;o)  Fridays are usually the best because the class is notably smaller.  For some reason the college-age crowd is conspicuously absent at 4:45pm on a Friday...

The other great thing is I recently was introduced to a pair of middle-school-aged sisters who attend our church and live just 3 blocks away.  Between the two of them they are going to watch the kids when Austin isn't home (which is about 60% of the time).  They've both come now, and they're both great.  It may be a little more expensive to have to pay a babysitter and pay for a class, but having that hour to do something good for myself a few times a week is worth every penny and all the pain. :o)

Excused absence

I have been absent from the blogging world for awhile (6 days is a long time for me).  After the beautiful beginning, the rest of last week was very long and frustrating at times.  Austin ended up being gone for 4 1/2 days after his return flight got canceled, and he didn't arrive home until noon on Saturday.  Both kids had coughs and runny noses.  I was up with one or both of them every night.  The weather stunk (rain, terrible wind and even 1/2" of snow on Saturday morning).  The dirt guy didn't show up.  The replacement toilet bowl didn't come, but a new (second) tank did.  The kids didn't eat well whether it was leftovers (for the fifth time) or I made something new.  I actually called my mom to apologize for all those times I complained about what she cooked and then refused to eat it when I was growing up.  After a minor emotional breakdown on Saturday I went to bed at 8:30pm.

Now it is a new week.  Austin has left for 2 1/2 days again but is taking Thursday & Friday off from work.  The new toilet bowl showed up today.  The dirt guy said they'd be here first thing in the morning.  The kids are feeling and eating better (sort of).  I had the best dental check-up ever--quick & painless with no cavities and no concerns (i.e. no "watch" areas) and no payment because we have dental insurance for the first time ever. :o)  I also finally found some fabric for the backs of the curtains I'm planning to make for the breakfast nook.  It only took a year since I bought the initial fabric.  Maybe by next winter I'll get around to sewing them together! :op

The weather forecast is still utterly depressing, especially since we were planning on doing a lot of outdoor work this weekend, but otherwise things are looking up! :o)

Parks & daffodils

It was a near-perfect day today: sunny and 68 degrees with a very slight breeze from the south.  We took full advantage--especially considering the forecast of rain the rest of the week and possibly even some snow this weekend. :op  We visited our top four favorite parks in Waverly thanks to our park tour last summer.  They were Kids' Kingdom (Memorial Park), Juhl Park, Kohlmann Park and South Riverside Park.

The kids also had to check out our neighbor's daffodils.  We have a few scraggly tulips that are just starting to bloom--definitely nothing picture-worthy.  We could actually use the rain to really green everything up since we missed it all last week.  Some of the trees and bushes are just starting to bud out.  I love this time of year!

Washing cars

It was another beautiful day.  We cleaned out the garages and hauled out the big picnic table and grill.  Austin was planning to install a new toilet in the upstairs bathroom, but after pulling out the old one he discovered that the bowl of the new one was shattered in the box.  We had to special order it through Amazon.com because of the non-standard rough-in size.  We're working on a remedy for that.

So Austin decided to do the first hand-washing of the vehicles for the season.  He usually does this every Sunday when the weather is nice.  The kids were very excited to help, which meant I got plenty of time to get some things done inside the house.  :o)

Lincoln enjoyed sitting in the middle of the bubbles and puddles.

Emily was actually quite helpful.

Lincoln is getting tips on washing mud flaps.

Emily was entrusted with the hose for rinsing.

A warm Sunday

It was an exceptionally warm day today reaching 77 degrees.  We threw open all the windows and joyfully went outside with shorts and no coats.  It took Lincoln less than an hour to skin both knees. :o( 

We enjoyed our first picnic of the season on the deck until the wind started to pick up.

On a somewhat unrelated note, Lincoln got into Emily's markers and decided to decorate himself. :o)

 

Family project

We have some big outdoor projects planned over the next month or two.  We started today as a whole family.  The first task was to take out the rocks and edging in part of the front landscaping.  Luckily, the rocks were smaller sized and not very deep and there were very thick tarps underneath that could just be pulled up.  It took six loads in the wheelbarrow to move the rocks from the front to a pile by the alley.  Everyone got in on the action.

Emily mostly took on a supervisory role.  She was also the chief worm collector.

Lincoln tried to help in any way he could.

Austin did most of the heavy lifting.

It warmed up in the afternoon when Austin tackled some old, sickly and otherwise sad-looking bushes.  We also took out a few other smaller bushes in the landscaping that were past their time.  I took out the horrid spiky brick edging on the south side of the house and by the back garage (pictures will come later).  Emily offered helpful advice like, "Dad, umm, I think you should work harder."  Lincoln enjoyed digging in the dirt.

We ended the day with a walk to Dairy Queen to try the new Caramel Toffee Cookie Mini Blizzard (two thumbs up) and a quick stop at a playground where Emily went down the twisty slide about 30 times.  Fun day!