Those Crazy Kids!

We had a great time at the Science Museum yesterday with Grampy. I'll tell you all about it in a later post, today I want to tell you about the crazy kids we have. Meredith and Kevin are in Puerto Rico on business/vacation so we have Caroline with us today and tomorrow. They had a sleepover last night with Grampy at Caroline's house and, needless to say, didn't get enough sleep. So today they were both pretty fun to be around. Caroline tends to handle it better than Owen, but I think that's because she's with us and not her parents. I'm sure when she's with her parents and overtired she's an absolute gem... like Owen has been today. So Grampy brought them here this morning around 10am and Owen and I went off to a birthday party for 2 hours at 11am. Here he is bowling with his friend Harvey.

After the party we came home and sent Owen and Caroline outside to play. They actually did pretty well. I guess my hope was that if I wore them out enough they'd go to bed early. We'll see. Here they are having a serious conversation on the swing. Really, I went over there and they were both very cranky and talking seriously about how one wanted to swing fast and one wanted to swing slow.

Finally, I brought them in for a bath and dinner, it was just about the time I found Owen on the front steps having a time out and a tantrum. Here's Caroline eating her weight in veggies. She ate 6 big strawberries, half a red pepper, and about 10 grape tomatoes. In addition to her chicken! She would have eaten more if I didn't cut her off.

Anyway, right now I can hear them running around upstairs so I need to go. I sent them up to clean Owen's room so they could sleep on the floor. Something tells me they may have been distracted.

Playing a little Catch Up....

I know, I know, it's been a long time. The longest blog break since I started. I have no excuse except things have become busy here. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the last few days to catch you up on the kids. There's not really any exciting news to report but Grammy and Grampy are spending some time up here this week so I should have some fun stuff in the next few days. For now, these will have to do.

Here's Caroline pushing Katie on the swing.

Katie enjoying herself...

Bundled up to get some fresh air.

Somehow Katie discovered how to crawl under the bed... then she got stuck and I had to pull her out, dustbunnies and all.

Here she is trying to climb back into the tub with Owen.

Caught on Tape!!

I told you all she was a troublemaker! I have these drawers in the kitchen that Katie regularly gets into. I really really don't want to put latches on them. The bottom drawer, her favorite, holds the plastic wrap, aluminum foil, parchment paper, etc. I've turned them all around so the only one she can get her hands into is the parchment paper. Usually I'll hear her go into the drawer and start playing with it, then I'll get up and pull her away. Today I guess I didn't get there quick enough...



She played happily with that parchment paper for about 15 minutes, then Owen joined in and I got another 20 minutes or so out of it. After Katie went to bed I carefully folded it up so we can use it again tomorrow!

Kaitlyn and Buster

Here are some cute pics from my Dad of Katie and Buster. Apparently he pulled the bone out of her mouth right away... yeah, right.

The last time Heather will ever babysit my children. Ever.

I really think the picture explains it all but I'll give you the story anyway. My parents took Dan and I into the city yesterday to celebrate our anniversary. We were pretty desperate for a sitter and luckily (or so I thought) Heather was able to babysit. She came over and we left knowing that the kids would have a great time with her. Little did we know things took a turn for the worse in the afternoon. When we arrived home Owen was all smiles but after Heather left we heard the real story. He told us that the Ohio State basketball game was on and Heather wouldn't let him eat or play or move unless he watched the game. He said that Katie was crying so hard at the prospect of having to watch the game that she just fell asleep. You can see in the picture she actually tried to break the TV... anything to get the image of Ohio State off the screen. Anyway, I assured him that if Heather was ever allowed in our home again she'd have to shed all Ohio State gear at the door and we'd make sure the TV didn't work. This seemed to make him feel better, plus he'd also just beaten her at arm wrestling so that helped too.

Owen's Talent Show

Last but not least... When Heather came yesterday to babysit (view the atrocities she put the kids through in the next post) Owen wanted to play on the porch. After a few minutes we couldn't see him anymore so I went onto the porch and he wasn't there. I opened the door, furious, and called his name thinking he had gone outside without permission. Then he popped up from the toy chest. Oddly enough, Dan used to climb into the same chest when he was Owen's age.

Hats and Hits

Owen really has a thing for Katie's hat. He's been keeping it in his room and he comes out with it on at random times. Last night before I went to bed I went in to check on him, turn off his flashlight, etc., and this is what I found. I've also noticed lately just how tough Katie is. The kids were playing the other day while I taped them (as usual). Notice the part where Owen knocks her in the face and she doesn't even flinch.

Gratuitous Photos

I feel bad because it's been so long since my last post... I'm not counting the one I just did. Anyway, here are some cute photos, etc. from the last few days. Katie relaxing with Daddy. She never relaxes with me but for some reason she'll sit still with him for hours.

Owen showing off his new haircut.

Owen hiding his new haircut under Katie's hat.

Owen and Katie making music. He's a little more focused than she is.

Here's Katie "dancing" to some random hip-hop music that was on TV.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

What gorgeous weather we had this past weekend! It totally proves how much weather affects my mood because now it's cold again and I'm cranky again. On Sunday we went to a kids show with Meredith and Caroline and when we got home Owen didn't want to go inside. So I let him enjoy his lunch on the front steps.





It was pretty funny actually. While Owen ran around in the front yard, Katie stood at the gate yelling to be let outside. I'm sure the neighbors loved it. Little do they know what they're in for this summer....

First Steps!!

Katie took her first steps tonight!! I think she waited for Daddy to come home just so he could see it. She was standing in our room and I was talking to him and he said, "she just took two steps!" Of course I missed it even though I'm with her ALL THE TIME! Anyway, I stood her up and made her do it again and this time she took three steps! It was very exciting. After calling my parents to share the news we tried to get it on video. Okay, this is a terrible terrible video, but we had to try. Keep in mind that at this point it was 6:30, an hour past her usual bedtime, and she just wanted Daddy to pick her up. I promise I'll spend all day tomorrow trying to get her to do it again. :)

Owen's creativity

I like to think that Owen takes after me in the imagination department. Of course, he has yet to come up with an imaginary friend, let alone one who was left in the store, rescued, and then went off to China to travel. Anyway, I digress. :) Today he built a home for his superheroes. He's done this before but I've never taken a picture. It's really quite a sight to see. If you look closely you can see that each one has their own bed.



Before he started his building project he was playing with his pirate ship. For those of you who have spent time talking to Owen you won't be surprised by this video. For the rest of you, let me just warn you that when you ask Owen a question, he rarely gives the short answer. Kevin has somehow figured out how to cut him short without making him mad, but the rest of us have yet to learn that trick. I made the mistake of asking him what he was doing and this is the answer I got. Remember, you can stop the video early. It's almost 3 minutes long and I actually stopped it before he finished what he was doing...


While I was making dinner I stuck Katie in her highchair to munch on some snacks. Owen decided to pull his chair over and play monster trucks with her. I thought it was too cute a picture to pass up. I just wish you all could have heard their conversation.

Daddy's idea for dessert...

Last night before I left for yoga I fed Owen and Katie, put her to bed and put Owen into the bath. Then I left. Dan decided to give Owen dessert... for some reason he thought I wouldn't approve of his methods, but I do! What a great idea!

In case you couldn't tell, that was Owen eating a cupcake in the bathtub.

The Big Storm... and some fashion

So apparently we're just having a lull in the storm right now. Anyway, Dan has been outside already and managed to shovel most of the driveway. Being a good wife I felt like I should offer to do the rest... unfortunately he forgot that I don't shovel and took me up on my offer. Blech. Now I have to go out and do the rest before this lull is over. Here they are enjoying the snow this morning.





Katie and I stayed inside the blessedly warm house where I chased her around and tried to baby proof with pillows. Obviously it didn't work. She has no respect for the pillows. She just moves them out of the way and grabs whatever wires she can.



Here she is modeling the new pair of pants and shoes that I sewed for her last night and this morning.


I finally got her to stand still for a few seconds while Elmo was on TV. It's strange how she loves Elmo.