We ended our summer with one final trip across the street from my mom's to Barkley's, a little ice cream stand that we've been visiting for just about as long as I can remember and it's there that I get my favorite treat- a twist in a cup with rainbow sprinkles. What makes this so good is that they put a little bit of ice cream in the cup, then a scoop of sprinkles then more ice cream and finally sprinkles on the top. In my opinion this is the only way you can really enjoy this treat... but as always I'm off on my own little tangent.
Since we were headed back into Pittsburgh we thought we would stop and get this final treat, keeping the kids in their car seats. As Andy went out to get the treats, Caleb right away knew what was coming and announced that since we all finished our dinners, we could all have a special treat. There was no getting around giving the kids their own cups- they've started strongly objecting to the thought of sharing an ice cream with the 2 of them.
Andy brought back a paper bag full of treats and started slowly pulling out the items one by one, teasing the kids a bit. Caleb played along as we asked what each of the items were- is this a spoon and such. Then I thought I would keep the game going pulling out their styrofoam cup and saying, "hmm, is this coffee?" Caleb knew right away it was his ice cream and happily dug in. Sadie got her cup and we started enjoying our treat. Then, little Sadie pipes up "yummy, coffee" holding her spoon high and taking a big bite of ice cream.
The little ears hear everything and we never know when it's going to come back to us. :-)
BTW, we will be cleaning sprinkles out of the car and car seats for the rest of the year but they enjoyed their treats.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The First Camping Trip
Our summer came to a busy end this weekend as we celebrated Labor Day with our first camping trip. Now, I've considered myself to be a somewhat outdoorsy kind of girl. Growing up I was frequently covered in dirt, with my long hair hanging in messy tangles. Dad would take me hiking and fishing. With Mom and Joe, we spent many many many weekends camping in our pop-up camper all over western PA. Andy's a great sport about it but really prefers that the great outdoors stay out doors.
Mom and Joe wished to encourage Andy and I to go on our own adventures when we first got married so that Christmas they got us a tent, a camp stove, a light and camp chairs. Almost 8 years later the tent had remained happily fit in its bag, the stove in its box and we kind of lost track of the light between moving from Baltimore back to PA. (But the camp chairs have gotten lots of use :-)
But back to the real story.
We organized a little overnight camping trip to Keystone State Park (Derry, PA) about 45 min from Pittsburgh. One of the other families that went had a 2 yr old little boy so we thought since this would be a first time thing for all the kids we shouldn't do too much. I suggested the location knowing that my parents were only 10 min from the park should we run into problems with the kids. (So so so so so glad we went there)
Andy and I tried our best to plan and pack for the trip. We had a practice run on putting up the tent in the backyard so we wouldn't look like complete fools at the site and learned that a 7 person tent is very big. Yep, the tent barely fit in our backyard, not that the yard is small but when you factor in the swingset, sandbox and clothes line, you don't have a lot of space to work with. We went out in search of a sleeping bag for the Sadie-girl and ended up getting little blow-up beds for each of the kids (probably the biggest hit of the entire trip). And then began packing.
You would be surprised at how much stuff you need for two toddlers on an overnight trip-especially when you have no idea what to expect. We had the honda packed full and still had to borrow some things from my mom.
We got out to the site and began unloading. I took the kids to my mom's to pick up a cooler and the mountain pie irons while Andy set up the tent. They happily sent me back with what we needed (including the missing camp light) and some camp chairs. That's when we learned our first mistake. We packed up our little cooler with a few things and then left it sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I called my mom and she happily raided her fridge and brought us a few things to get us through the next day. (I was so glad they were only a few minutes away)
The rest of the evening went well. Our friends were so generous with their food and sharing with us. We cooked hot dogs on the fire and later made pizza mountain pies. The kids enjoyed PB sandwiches. After dinner the kids played a little while and toasted marshmellows for s'mores but then they were ready for bed. Caleb was so eager to sleep in his new bed, he insisted on putting on his pjs before it was even 8. We put the kids to bed and after some time they finally went to sleep. The adults played board games then and waited for the concert across the lake to end before going to sleep. The concert didn't seem to want to end. The band played until after midnight but we were too tired and decided to try to sleep with the loud music anyways. Andy joked, "I could have stayed home and listened to loud music like this" with the college students back on our block.
The music finally ended and then the real fun began.
It is amazing the noises you hear sleeping in a tent. It's not just the gentle hooting of an owl or hum of crickets. No way. I woke to her growling and snarling and the screeching of a small animal meeting a very painful demise and it sounded to be only a few yards away from our tent. Then there were the sounds of critters around the campsite. We had put all the food (including the trash in our car) but left out a couple of plastic coolers. Well, raccoons are not stupid animals and after a summer of scavenging campsites they have figured out how to open some coolers. (Our friends found their bread in the weeds above the campsite in the morning) I would love to say that I enjoyed hearing all these noises and slept peacefully but in the middle of the night I'm rarely capable of any rational thought so there was little sleeping on my part. Even after the noises of nature, I was kept awake but the kids where would take turns needing covered the rest of the night.
In the morning we discovered the pawprints from the visitors but still had plenty for breakfast. Then we had to begin the chore of packing up.
To top off the summer we spent Labor Day at Idlewild Park. It was a really nice day and the kids had a blast. Caleb climbed the big cargo net in Jumpin' Jungle with Andy and both Caleb and Sadie enjoyed playing in the ball pit. We lasted until 4:30 and then had enough. It was time to head for home. Caleb was passed out before we even left the parking lot.
Mom and Joe wished to encourage Andy and I to go on our own adventures when we first got married so that Christmas they got us a tent, a camp stove, a light and camp chairs. Almost 8 years later the tent had remained happily fit in its bag, the stove in its box and we kind of lost track of the light between moving from Baltimore back to PA. (But the camp chairs have gotten lots of use :-)
But back to the real story.
We organized a little overnight camping trip to Keystone State Park (Derry, PA) about 45 min from Pittsburgh. One of the other families that went had a 2 yr old little boy so we thought since this would be a first time thing for all the kids we shouldn't do too much. I suggested the location knowing that my parents were only 10 min from the park should we run into problems with the kids. (So so so so so glad we went there)
Andy and I tried our best to plan and pack for the trip. We had a practice run on putting up the tent in the backyard so we wouldn't look like complete fools at the site and learned that a 7 person tent is very big. Yep, the tent barely fit in our backyard, not that the yard is small but when you factor in the swingset, sandbox and clothes line, you don't have a lot of space to work with. We went out in search of a sleeping bag for the Sadie-girl and ended up getting little blow-up beds for each of the kids (probably the biggest hit of the entire trip). And then began packing.
You would be surprised at how much stuff you need for two toddlers on an overnight trip-especially when you have no idea what to expect. We had the honda packed full and still had to borrow some things from my mom.
We got out to the site and began unloading. I took the kids to my mom's to pick up a cooler and the mountain pie irons while Andy set up the tent. They happily sent me back with what we needed (including the missing camp light) and some camp chairs. That's when we learned our first mistake. We packed up our little cooler with a few things and then left it sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I called my mom and she happily raided her fridge and brought us a few things to get us through the next day. (I was so glad they were only a few minutes away)
The rest of the evening went well. Our friends were so generous with their food and sharing with us. We cooked hot dogs on the fire and later made pizza mountain pies. The kids enjoyed PB sandwiches. After dinner the kids played a little while and toasted marshmellows for s'mores but then they were ready for bed. Caleb was so eager to sleep in his new bed, he insisted on putting on his pjs before it was even 8. We put the kids to bed and after some time they finally went to sleep. The adults played board games then and waited for the concert across the lake to end before going to sleep. The concert didn't seem to want to end. The band played until after midnight but we were too tired and decided to try to sleep with the loud music anyways. Andy joked, "I could have stayed home and listened to loud music like this" with the college students back on our block.
The music finally ended and then the real fun began.
It is amazing the noises you hear sleeping in a tent. It's not just the gentle hooting of an owl or hum of crickets. No way. I woke to her growling and snarling and the screeching of a small animal meeting a very painful demise and it sounded to be only a few yards away from our tent. Then there were the sounds of critters around the campsite. We had put all the food (including the trash in our car) but left out a couple of plastic coolers. Well, raccoons are not stupid animals and after a summer of scavenging campsites they have figured out how to open some coolers. (Our friends found their bread in the weeds above the campsite in the morning) I would love to say that I enjoyed hearing all these noises and slept peacefully but in the middle of the night I'm rarely capable of any rational thought so there was little sleeping on my part. Even after the noises of nature, I was kept awake but the kids where would take turns needing covered the rest of the night.
In the morning we discovered the pawprints from the visitors but still had plenty for breakfast. Then we had to begin the chore of packing up.
To top off the summer we spent Labor Day at Idlewild Park. It was a really nice day and the kids had a blast. Caleb climbed the big cargo net in Jumpin' Jungle with Andy and both Caleb and Sadie enjoyed playing in the ball pit. We lasted until 4:30 and then had enough. It was time to head for home. Caleb was passed out before we even left the parking lot.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
pretending
the kids have started pretend playing. up until this point, i haven't really seen too much of this but over the past week and a half more and more games of pretend have developed. i think sadie might have started it- she's so determined to do anything the grown-ups do, from potty-training baby to taking her purse and going shopping in the cozy coupe. caleb has always been more of a realist and resistant to any suggestion that things aren't way the seem to be but he's started moving away from that.
friday grandma susie and pa-pa joe brought in a tugboat sandbox for in the back yard. this was a HUGE hit, especially with caleb. this addition to the backyard has meant tons of time playing outside (making potty training easier, since i'm not ready to venture out with him in underwear just yet). caleb has taken on the role of sea captain frequently sticking his head over the side and yelling "aye aye captain" and then jumping out into the yard and having me call out "man overboard" then he runs around the yard trying to stay away from the sharks that might eat him. he even started pretending that he was a shark trying to eat me. i would say "don't eat me shark, go eat some peanut butter" and he would fall on the ground laughing.
today, sadie has been little mama taking good care of her baby. she's finally discovering that baby should have a diaper and clothes on and made several attempts at putting one of her diapers on baby using caleb's changing table. i even had to let her use the baby powder (un-opened) because she knows that's what baby's need. it was really cute to watch and even caleb tried to join in. we almost had issues though. caleb doesn't have a baby and wanted sadie's but he accepted another smaller doll without too much protest.
potty training is continuing to go well. so far no accidents today :-) but we are becoming more concerned that he might be celiac and are looking into getting him tested.
sadie's other favorite toy (besides baby) is her cycle-bike. she can't quite use the pedals yet but cruises right along just using her feet to push. i've been having trouble chasing after her because she'll take off going up the sidewalk and giggling as i yell at her to turn back.
caleb can read STOP. i started telling him about red lights when we were in the car and then explained that i had to also stop at stop signs. i explained that stop said stop and he's progressed for pointing out the stop signs when we drive to also recognizing it in other places. while playing at the play kitchen he looked at the microwave and declared "s-t-o-p, spells stop" i thought it was pretty cool. he's also started putting together letters (from puzzles or refrigerator magnets) and asking me what they spell. hasn't made any real words yet but i'm impressed with this start.
we have a 3 yr check up for caleb next week. then it's get ready for the big birthday party.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Potty training successes!!!!
Yippee!! we have a little boy who is finally starting to get this whole going to the potty thing. we managed 3 trips to the potty today and one completely without me prompting and in time to make our deposit with no accidents!!! in case you can't tell, i'm thrilled after weeks of feeling like the boy was going to be stubborn and not interested. to be making progress with a couple weeks left before pre-school starts is a big deal and it's good because i think he's figuring out that me giving him juice all morning is what's making him have to go. he's started refusing to drink now. silly smartie pants who i can just barely keep one step in front of ;-)
well, just wanted to share that news! back to work.
well, just wanted to share that news! back to work.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
so sorry
i know i've been away for quite some time. we had our beach trip to Ocean Beach, NJ and since getting back, i've been in potty training mode. yes, Caleb will be starting pre-school on his birthday, Sept 9, and they ask that the kids be potty trained.
**************a warning-- the following contains potty info that you may not want to here*************
this is proving to be quite the challenge. we have tried just about everything- m&m's as rewards, a sticker chart, just having him sit on the potty, spending entire days home in underwear, getting Sadie a potty so she can try it too... nothing has worked. yesterday, the kid spent almost the whole day in underwear and had only one accident. sounds great, right? wrong, he only went to the bathroom twice the entire day, once was the accident, twice was in the pull-up at naptime. i was shocked, he went from 3 until 9 without going at all. needless to say, the overnight diaper could not hold all that was in there.
i don't know what to do with him. right now, i'm thinking he can go to pre-school in underwear with instructions that they don't give him anything to eat or drink. it's only a couple of hours in the morning ;-)
ok, enough with the potty.
besides that, we've been all about the Olympics. the kids have really enjoyed seeing the various competitions. we've caught some gymnastics (recorded the trampoline event for sadie), lots of volleyball and swimming, some fencing and some running. the kids perk up anytime they hear the Olympic song intro... we might have to put that on a CD for in the car.
now we're working on planning the little man's 3rd b-day party. hard to believe it's already been 3yrs.
**************a warning-- the following contains potty info that you may not want to here*************
this is proving to be quite the challenge. we have tried just about everything- m&m's as rewards, a sticker chart, just having him sit on the potty, spending entire days home in underwear, getting Sadie a potty so she can try it too... nothing has worked. yesterday, the kid spent almost the whole day in underwear and had only one accident. sounds great, right? wrong, he only went to the bathroom twice the entire day, once was the accident, twice was in the pull-up at naptime. i was shocked, he went from 3 until 9 without going at all. needless to say, the overnight diaper could not hold all that was in there.
i don't know what to do with him. right now, i'm thinking he can go to pre-school in underwear with instructions that they don't give him anything to eat or drink. it's only a couple of hours in the morning ;-)
ok, enough with the potty.
besides that, we've been all about the Olympics. the kids have really enjoyed seeing the various competitions. we've caught some gymnastics (recorded the trampoline event for sadie), lots of volleyball and swimming, some fencing and some running. the kids perk up anytime they hear the Olympic song intro... we might have to put that on a CD for in the car.
now we're working on planning the little man's 3rd b-day party. hard to believe it's already been 3yrs.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Zoo pics
another trip to the zoo this week to see the new baby elephant (Angelina) ! i didn't get too many pictures of her though- she was well protected by mama and a couple of zoo keepers. i also didn't get many pics of my kids (they no longer look at me at all when i have my camera going) but i did get some nice pics of the animals (if i do say so myself :-)
g'ma jody was visiting this week from NJ. we had lots of fun at the zoo. tried potty training some more and visited the toy library. lots of fun to hopefully tide g'ma over until we visit her at the beach.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)